Black & Gold World Cup Preview

While LAFC takes a summer break, four of its players—and the rest of the world—will enjoy an action-packed summer. Here’s everything that Black & Gold fans and Angelinos need to know ahead the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

This story will be updated.

STORYLINES

WHOLE NEW WORLD - With an expanded 48-team field, this year’s FIFA World Cup is the largest in history, hosting 104 matches in 16 cities across North America (including eight matches in Los Angeles), featuring traditional powers like France and defending champions Argentina, and first-time participants Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan.

FOUR LAFC PLAYERS - Forward and MLS assist leader Son Heung-Min will captain South Korea in his fourth FIFA World Cup. Midfielder Mathieu Chionière and winger Jacob Shaffelburg will make their World Cup debuts for Canada, while midfielder Stephen Eustáquio will represent Canada for the second time in World Cup competition. South Korea and Canada could potentially meet in the Round of 32, in Los Angeles. 

“I think when you're talking about the World Cup, as a footballer it's like a dream,” Son said. “It doesn't matter how many World Cups you have played in or how many you have experienced, the World Cup is like a dream.”

STARS AND STRIPES - LAFC midfielder Timmy Tillman helped the U.S. prepare for this World Cup as a member of Mauricio Pochettino’s roster last year. Now he will watch his younger brother Malik play for the USMNT and try to advance out of Group D. “It means a lot to every soccer fan here in the U.S., but for me especially it's going to be fun to watch my brother play, have my family here, and just be a fan,” Timmy Tillman said.

WATCH PARTIES - Enjoy the tournament with the Black & Gold family at LAFC’s Summer of Soccer Celebration (presented by Psycho Bunny), a series of fan-focused events and community activations across Los Angeles along with live viewings of FIFA World Cup 2026™ matches. 

WORLD CUP MATCHES IN LA - The world’s city hosts eight World Cup matches, including a Quarterfinal match on July 10, at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood (known as Los Angeles Stadium during the competition). 

GROUP STAGE MATCHES IN LA:

• Fri. June 12 – USA vs. Paraguay (Group D)
• Mon. June 15 – Iran vs. New Zealand (Group G)
• Thurs. June 18 – Switzerland vs. TBD (Group B)
• Sun. June 21 – Belgium vs. Iran (Group G)
• Thu. June 25 – USA vs. TBD (Group D)

ROUND OF 32 MATCHES IN LA:

• Sun. June 28 – 2nd place Group A vs. 2nd place Group B
• Thu. July 2 – 1st place Group H vs. 2nd place Group J

QUARTERFINAL IN LA:

• Fri. July 10 – [Teams TBD]

SANS HUGO - For the first time since 2006, France will compete in a World Cup without Hugo Lloris in goal. Lloris, LAFC’s current number 1 and the all-time leader in World Cup appearances by a goalkeeper, captained Les Bleus to the championship in 2018 and a runner-up finish in 2022 before retiring from international play. Inter Milan keeper Mike Maignan is expected to start in goal for France, which is in Group I with Senegal, Iraq, and Norway.

TOGETHER AGAIN - South Korea and Mexico are in the same group, just like the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when on the final day of group-stage play Mexico (and LAFC star Carlos Vela) needed Son’s team to get a result over defending champions Germany to allow El Tri to advance. Son scored in stoppage time to clinch a 2-0 upset win over Germany on June 27, 2018, sparking pro-Korea celebrations across Mexico and setting up Son’s first ever visit to LA, where he was welcomed by grateful LAFC and El Tri supporters:

SON IS SEASONED - Son, who experienced playing at altitude in Mexico during two Concacaf Champions Cup matches with LAFC this spring, said, “In Mexico it was obviously not easy, if I'm honest. It wasn't easy with the altitude, with all the different conditioning, but this is how it is. They're hosting the World Cup ... I think it is a big, big deal, so we're happy to go there and challenge ourselves. As an athlete you have to love those kind of big challenges, so we are looking forward to it.”

GROUP C IS BLACK & GOLD - LAFC players Igor Jesus, Ryan Porteous, and Amin Boudri will be watching Group C, which includes Brazil, Scotland, and Morocco. Midfielder Jesus was part of Brazil’s U-23 National Team that won gold at 2023 Pan-Am Games. Defender Porteous has earned 13 caps for Scotland’s senior team. Attacking midfielder Boudri is of Moroccan descent and will also be keeping an eye on Group F and Sweden, the country where he was born and raised and for whom he played at the U-21 level.

AFRICAN PRIDE - Denis Bouanga and Gabon would have been part of Group E in this World Cup if not for a stubborn and extremely talented Cote d’Ivoire side that narrowly eliminated Gabon in last fall’s CAF (Confederation of African Football) qualification, when the Ivorians inched past Gabon by a single point, 23 to 22. Cote d’Ivoire, one of a record 10 African teams competing in this summer's tournament, must face a difficult Group E comprised of Germany, Curaçao, and Ecuador.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:

SON:

“Ever since I was young, watching the World Cup, I always harbored the thought: ‘I want to become a player like that; I want to stand on a stage like that.’ Whether this is my fourth World Cup, my third, or whatever number it may be, that sense of dreaming and passion remains exactly the same as when I first set out to do this. So, for this World Cup as well, I intend to go with that same mindset—returning to my roots. My goal, in a sense, is to give my absolute best and fully showcase everything I have to offer—whether that be my abilities on the pitch or my contributions off the pitch. I believe that if I do that—and if the team moves in the direction we aspire to go—we will undoubtedly be able to achieve great results. That is my biggest objective. But perhaps most importantly, my goal is to create a shared celebration—a time when the people of South Korea, and especially the football fans who have shown us so much love, can laugh together, come together, and simply enjoy the festivities. After all, the World Cup is truly a festival, isn't it? It is, in a way, a festival for all the football fans who have loved the sport over the past four years; my goal is to help foster a culture where we can truly embrace and enjoy that celebration together.”

CHOINIÈRE:

“We all know in Canada it's a lot of hockey. But right now I feel there's a transition that we have a lot of soccer players coming out and playing right now in very good clubs around the world, and that's what we want to show. We want to spark something in the Canadian community, so we will have more players coming in the system and the level getting higher and higher.” 

EUSTÁQUIO:

“We [Canada] are going to play a World Cup at home so I think the expectation is a little bit higher. We have the experience of going through Qatar, which was a hard tournament for us, but at the same time it was good that we were there. It gave us a lot of experience and we were able to go through that process, which was painful but at the same time we learned a lot. In Canada I know that everybody's tuned in. They're very supportive of the team. We need the support of everybody in the country.”

ALSO PLAYING

They are not competing in this summer’s World Cup, but David Martínez (Venezuela), Nathan Ordaz (El Salvador), and Matt Evans (Guatemala) were called up by their countries to participate in international friendlies during this window. Ordaz and El Salvador will face Son and South Korea in a pre-World Cup friendly in Utah on Wed. June 3. 

BMO Stadium will host a friendly between El Salvador and Qatar on Sat. June 6. (TICKETS)

Jude Terry is on the United States’ 20-player roster for the U-18 MNT’s international training camp June 1-9 in Oliva, Spain, where the team will play friendlies against Sweden U-18 (June 5) and Qatar U-19 (June 8).

LAFC will be back in action on Friday, July 17, when the Black & Gold travels to Carson to face the Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. PT. All MLS matches are broadcast on Apple TV, with local radio coverage available on 710 AM ESPN, the ESPN LA app, KYPA 1230 AM [Korean], and 980 AM La Mera Mera [Spanish].