Son Heung-min scores in shootout to keep LAFC's knockout hope alive at Leagues Cup Related Article

The win rounded out the club's league stage play, leaving its hopes of advancing dependent on Thursday's results. Los Angeles FC (LAFC) have earned a second shootout victory in a continental tournament, with Korean superstar Son Heung-min converting his spot kick. Son was the second of five successive LAFC players to score their penalties in a 5-3 shootout victory over Club Queretaro of Mexico's Liga MX at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday. This was LAFC's third and final match of the opening phase of the Leagues Cup, a tournament featuring 36 teams from MLS and Liga MX. During the league phase, teams play three matches against opponents from the other league. The top four teams from each league will then advance to the knockout stage. In the first phase, a win is worth three points, a shootout victory is worth two points and a shootout loss is still good for one point. LAFC, who had a 5-4 shootout win over Chivas de Guadalajara and then defeated Toluca FC 1-0, finished the first round with seven points. The Los Angeles side are currently third on the MLS side, with the Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake having already qualified. Austin FC and the Chicago Fire each have six points with one match remaining, and results in their final league phase matches on Thursday will determine LAFC's fate. Queretaro scored the match's first goal in the 12th minute on Ali Avila's header and held LAFC to just one shot on target in the first half. LAFC drew even a dozen minutes after the restart, courtesy of Denis Bouanga. Then they kept pressing for a go-ahead goal, with Son setting up Bouanga for a shot in the 59th minute and Son himself being denied by goalkeeper Guillermo Allison on a counterattack in the 72nd minute. Five minutes later, Son then released a left-footed shot from the left side of the box that missed the target to the right. Leagues Cup matches go directly to penalties without extra time. All five LAFC players scored, but Queretaro's fourth kicker, Daniel Parra, struck the crossbar. Son has gone goalless in all three Leagues Cup matches so far. He found the back of the net in four consecutive MLS regular season games coming back from the FIFA World Cup 2026 break last month. The Leagues Cup will continue through early September. The top three teams will qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup, the top regional competition. Yonhap