Welcome to the third World Cup cycle in LAFC’s brief but eventful life. The 2018 FIFA World Cup saw Carlos Vela and Mexico advance to the Round of 16 thanks to heroics from South Korea’s Son Heung-Min, while future Black & Gold teammates Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud ended up lifting the sport’s greatest prize for France.
At the 2022 World Cup, Ecuador’s roster included three LAFC players fresh off their MLS Cup title win (Diego Palacios, Jose Cifuentes, and Sebastian Mendez), while Gareth Bale made his final appearance in a Wales shirt and Lloris and Les Bleus fell just short in their bid to repeat, losing on penalties to Argentina.
Next summer, the globe’s greatest football spectacle comes to North America and kicks off in Los Angeles on June 12. Son and South Korea have already qualified. Mathieu Choiniére and Team Canada received a bid as hosts of the competition (along with the U.S. and Mexico). Which LAFC players will join them? That will be determined during the three upcoming FIFA international windows in September, October, and November.
Here's everything you need to know.
This page will be updated throughout qualifying.
Rosters for FIFA World Cup 26 have not been finalized.
QUALIFIED:
Son Heung-Min – South Korea
Mathieu Choiniére – Canada
CAN QUALIFY:
Denis Bouanga – Gabon
Nathan Ordaz – El Salvador
Adrian Wibowo - Indonesia
DENIS BOUANGA – GABON
CURRENT FIFA WORLD RANKING: 80
BOUANGA AND GABON CAN QUALIFY IF: they finish first in CAF Group F. Currently Gabon is one point behind leaders Ivory Coast; those two countries meet head-to-head on Tues. Sept. 9.
PLAN B: If Gabon finishes second in Group F, the Panthers could still earn a World Cup spot by surviving two separate knockout competitions in November 2025 and March 2026.(Inter-Confederation Play-Offs: Scheduled for March 2026, this competition will feature six teams from around the world who barely missed World Cup qualification—competing for the last two spots.)
GABON SCHEDULE / RESULTS:
Wed. Sept. 3 vs. Seychelles (away)
Tues. Sept. 9 vs. Ivory Coast (home)
Mon. Oct. 6 vs. Gambia (away)
Mon. Oct. 13 vs. Burundi (home)
OVERVIEW: Gabon has never qualified for a World Cup. With Bouanga and its other world-class forward, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (of Ligue 1 club Marseille), the Panthers have a good chance of becoming one of at least nine (9) African teams to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the most African participants ever.
Gabon (5W-1L-0D) is currently in second place in Group F, one point behind Ivory Coast, with four matches remaining in its 10-match schedule. Those two sides square off in a critical match on Sept. 9.
NATHAN ORDAZ – EL SALVADOR
CURRENT FIFA WORLD RANKING: 87
ORDAZ AND EL SALVADOR CAN QUALIFY IF: they win Group A in the final round of Concacaf Qualifiers. The other three countries in their group are Panama, Suriname, and Guatemala. Each country will play six group matches across three FIFA windows over the next three months.
PLAN B: If El Salvador finishes second in Group A, it could potentially advance to the FIFA Inter-Continental Playoff in March, to compete for two additional World Cup berths.
EL SALVADOR SCHEDULE / RESULTS:
Thu. Sept. 4 vs. Guatemala (away)
Mon. Sept. 8 vs. Suriname (home)
Fri. Oct. 10 vs. Panama (home)
Tues. Oct. 14 vs. Guatemala (home)
Thu. Nov. 13 vs. Suriname (away)
Tues. Nov. 18 vs. Panama (away)
OVERVIEW: The LAFC Performance Center will be abuzz on Sept. 4 and Oct. 14, when Ordaz’s El Salvador side faces Guatemala, the national team of LAFC2’s Matt Evans (who will join the Guatemalans U-23 side after competing for the senior roster at Concacaf Nations League during summer).
El Salvador has a tough draw in Group A, which includes Nations League finalists Panama, as well as Suriname, which won its group in the previous round of WC26 qualifying.
ADRIAN WIBOWO – INDONESIA
CURRENT FIFA WORLD RANKING: 118
WIBOWO AND INDONESIA CAN QUALIFY IF: they win Group B in the fourth round of Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The other two countries in Group B are Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Those matches will take place in October 2025.
In September Indonesia will prepare for those matches by playing friendlies against Chinese Taipei and Lebanon.
PLAN B: Asia has eight direct qualification slots for the FIFA World Cup 26. If Indonesia does not win its group in AFC qualifiers in October, it could also advance through the FIFA Inter-Confederation Play-Offs in March 2026.
INDONESIA SCHEDULE / RESULTS:
Fri. Sept. 5 - friendly vs. Chinese Taipei (home)
Mon. Sept. 8 - friendly vs. Lebanon (home)
Oct. 8 vs. Saudi Arabia (in Saudi Arabia)
Oct. 11 vs. Iraq (in Saudi Arabia)
Nov. 13 – TBD
Nov. 18 – TBD
OVERVIEW: Earlier this year Wibowo, an LA native whose father is from Surabaya, became the first Indonesian-American player to appear in an MLS game. Indonesia’s national team is looking to appear in its second World Cup, and its first since 1938.
