Los Angeles Football Club and Son Heung-min aim to advance in the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals after their first loss of the 2026 season. They face Cruz Azul in the second leg in Puebla, Mexico, where even a draw would suffice for semifinals progression. Son scored his first open-play goal of the year in the 3-0 first-leg win.
Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) will visit Cruz Azul for the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals at Estadio Cuauhtemoc in Puebla, Mexico. The match kicks off at 9 p.m. Tuesday local time, or 10 a.m. Wednesday Korea time. LAFC holds a commanding 3-0 lead from the first leg last week.
Son Heung-min opened the scoring in the April 7 first leg at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles with his first open-play goal of the year, followed by a "blah blah" hand gesture apparently aimed at his critics. Prior to that, he had only one penalty goal from February 17 in the tournament's opening round and failed to score for South Korea against Ivory Coast and Austria. At age 33, such criticism had fueled doubts about his form.
LAFC suffered their first loss of 2026 on Saturday, falling 2-1 to Portland Timbers in MLS play. They had previously gone 5 wins and 1 draw without conceding in league matches. Son and other veterans sat out that game, leaving them rested for Cruz Azul.
A draw would advance LAFC to the semifinals, bringing Son closer to his first trophy since joining last August. LAFC exited last year's MLS playoffs in the Western Conference semifinals. The Concacaf Champions Cup features 27 clubs from North and Central America, with four each from the U.S. and Mexico in the quarterfinals.
