[Official] 'Son Heung-min's painful three-game silence': LAFC eliminated early from League Cup again

*This content was translated by AI.

Son Heung-min's club, LAFC, has been eliminated from the 2026 League Cup league phase.

On the 14th (Korean time), LAFC finished the 2026 League Cup league phase with 7 points (1 win, 2 draws), placing fifth among the 18th MLS teams and failing to secure one of the four spots available for the quarterfinals.

The League Cup is a tournament featuring 18 teams each from the U.S. MLS and Mexico's Liga MX. Teams are drawn to face three opponents from the other league, with the top four teams in each league advancing to the quarterfinal knockout stage based on their final standings.

LAFC previously drew 1-1 with Chivas Guadalajara before winning 5-4 in a penalty shootout, then defeated Toluca 1-0. Later, they drew 1-1 against Querétaro and won 5-3 in the subsequent penalty shootout.

In this tournament, teams earn three points for a win during regular time, two points for a win in the penalty shootout, and one point for a loss in the penalty shootout.

Although LAFC drew twice against Guadalajara and Querétaro, resulting in an official record of one win and two draws, they accumulated seven points total: three from their regular-time victory over Toluca, plus two points each from their two penalty shootout wins.

LAFC tied with Real Salt Lake on points but fell short of fourth place due to a significantly worse goal difference: Salt Lake held +7, while LAFC had only +1, ultimately leading to their early elimination.

Having finished as runners-up in the 2024 edition, LAFC suffered another early exit from the league phase this season, following last year's performance, and saw their pride take a hit.

Coincidentally, Son Heung-min's painful silence ultimately led to LAFC's elimination.

After scoring in four consecutive MLS matches following the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, Son Heung-min failed to score in all three League Cup matches against Mexican teams, causing his momentum to come to a complete halt.

With LAFC's early exit confirmed, the tournament's quarterfinal matchups will be León vs. Salt Lake, Toluca vs. Austin, Monterrey vs. Chicago, and América vs. Columbus (teams from Mexico listed on the left).

Son Heung-min will attempt to turn things around in his next match: a home game against San Diego FC in the 20th round of MLS on the 16th at 11:30 a.m.

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*This content was translated by AI.