Son Heung-min's LAFC Misses Out on Leagues Cup Quarterfinals After Dropping to 5th Among MLS Teams

Los Angeles FC (LAFC) of U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS), featuring Son Heung-min (34), has failed to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2026 Leagues Cup.

LAFC slipped to 5th place among 18 MLS teams in the tournament after Chicago Fire and Austin FC both secured victories in their final Group Stage (Phase One) match on August 14 (KST), ultimately missing out on a quarterfinal berth.

The Leagues Cup is a club tournament featuring 18 out of 30 MLS teams and 18 teams from Mexico's Liga MX.

In the group stage, teams face three opponents from the opposing league, and only the top four teams from each league advance to the quarterfinal knockout stage to compete for the title.

Facing teams from the Mexican league (Liga MX), LAFC drew 1-1 with Guadalajara in regulation during their first match before winning 5-4 on penalties, and edged Toluca 1-0 in their second match.

In their third match against Querétaro held on August 13, they tied 1-1 in regulation and won the ensuing penalty shootout 5-3.

In the Leagues Cup, a win in 90 minutes of regulation awards 3 points, a penalty shootout win awards 2 points, and a penalty shootout loss awards 1 point.

Having accumulated 7 points with one regulation win and two penalty shootout wins, LAFC sat in 3rd place among MLS teams until the previous day, keeping their quarterfinal hopes alive.

However, Chicago and Austin, both of which had two wins, each triumphed in their final matches on this day, dropping LAFC to 5th place.

Chicago defeated Cruz Azul 2-1, while Austin drew 1-1 with Club América before winning 6-5 on penalties.

In the MLS standings, Chicago claimed 1st place with 9 points, while Austin and Columbus Crew (8 points each) took 2nd and 3rd.

LAFC finished 5th, tied on points with 4th-place Real Salt Lake but trailing in goal difference (Saltlake +7, LAFC +1).

In Liga MX, León (9 points), América (7 points), Toluca, and Monterrey (6 points each) secured the top four spots to reach the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinal matchups were set as León versus Salt Lake, Toluca versus Austin, Monterrey versus Chicago, and América versus Columbus.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.