Under clear, blue skies, and with the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains providing the backdrop, LAFC played its fourth preseason scrimmage of 2026, facing a new-look San Jose Earthquakes squad in a private, closed-door scrimmage at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif.
Temperatures were in the mid-80s but a steady breeze kept the desert heat from playing too big a role in a friendly that involved two sides in different phases of their respective preseasons. LAFC returns most of its roster from a year ago and is preparing for its first competitive game in less than two weeks, while San Jose has undergone significant offseason churn and is evaluating incoming players as well as young returners and prospects.
After the game LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos said that his goal for the day was “seeing how we improved from the last game [the scrimmage vs. Portland last Wednesday] in our model and what we want to be about. There's things that I was happy with, especially when we're able to find [attacking] play inside. Then we become really strong. I didn't like the beginning of the second half, we were low, we weren't able to press high enough. We never really got in danger—we were still able to control the things defensively, but I want us to get to another level. The result is positive, the guys worked hard, but I still think we could be better. ”
Hugo Lloris started in goal for LAFC and played the entire 90-minute scrimmage as he and several other teammates continued building their physical and mental fitness in preparation the imminent MLS regular season, which begins on February 21 against Inter Miami at the LA Coliseum.
Defenders Eddie Segura, Nkosi Tafari, Ryan Porteous formed the starting backline in front of Lloris and began the second half as well, with Segura (who celebrated his 29th birthday on Monday) coming off for Artem Smolyakov at roughly the 60-minute mark. Starting attacker David Martínez was relieved at the same time by MLS veteran and January acquisition Tyler Boyd.
Speaking of birthdays, Martínez and midfielder Mathieu Choinière [who also started vs. San Jose] will both celebrate theirs on February 7. Choinière turns 29 while Martínez [below], who arrived at LAFC as a wispy 17-year-old, turns 20.
Other players who started on Wednesday, including forward Denis Bouanga, midfielders Timmy Tillman and Mark Delgado, and defender/wingback Sergi Palencia, nearly went the distance. Dos Santos said he wanted to play his core group for approximately 75 minutes, adding, “It was physical, in the heat, and it’s a different context when you don't have fans, a very dry field, in the sun. Mentally you have to be very strong to do the little things right, but I think overall the guys did a good job. ”
The final eleven who finished the match included veteran Ryan Hollingshead (the active leader in MLS goals by a defender), who along with Lloris led a mix of reserves and LAFC2 players including Marius Aiyenero (age 17), Tommy Mihalić (23), Lorenzo Dellavalle (21), Kenny Nielsen (23), and midfielders Jude Terry (17) and Matt Evans (19).
With just 13 days until its Concacaf Champions Cup opener in Honduras on February 17, Dos Santos said “right now we're more focused on us as a team” as opposed to preparing for Honduran club Real España.
For the upcoming public scrimmage against NYCFC in Coachella, on Sunday, Feb. 8, Dos Santos said that he will likely send a young team onto the field against last year’s Eastern Conference finalists. “But I think that after that game, when we go back to LA, then it's going to be full focus on Real España. ”
ALWAYS SUNNY
Son Heung-Min is just getting started on what will be a busy 2026, with his first full MLS regular-season ahead, along with LAFC’s other competitions, plus captaining South Korea in the FIFA World Cup. Son dressed and warmed up but did not play on Wednesday. During the course of the 90-minute match he either dapped, hugged, or spent a few minutes with each of the 30 or so players LAFC brought to the field, and made his rounds with the support staff as well.
“What I would speak to aside from the obvious – the popularity that Sonny has – the greatest difference I've seen is his ability within the group of players and the staff and the positive impact he makes,” LAFC Co-President and GM John Thorrington said this week about Son’s imprint on the club since he arrived last summer. “In my experience, he is unique as a star of that level of popularity, combined with a humility and a grace that is, in my opinion, unique. So that impact that he has had on the group, and now we'll have that for a full season here and then beyond, is something we're really excited to see continue to grow.”
As the first team loaded onto buses and departed the main field, Son walked with young reserves and LAFC2 players to a shaded area where they played high-tempo 7-v-7 on a short field, with Lloris’ backups, Thomas Hasal and Cabral Carter, manning each goal, and with fun and fast play as the top priorities.
SUPER BOWL PLANS
LAFC will close out its stay in the desert with a public friendly against NYCFC on Sunday, February 8, at 12:00 p.m. PT at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. Fans are welcome to attend, and passes are still available. Sunday’s match will also be broadcast locally on Fox 11 Plus [Ch. 13] and LAFC’s YouTube channel.
The club will hold a private, closed-door scrimmage against Tijuana Xolos next week, with details undisclosed.
THORRINGTON WEIGHS IN
Earlier this week, Thorrington spoke with the media at the Liquid I.V. Performance Center on a number of different topics.
Regarding his overall impression of the team at this early stage, LAFC’s Co-President and GM said: “What I've been most pleased about is Marc [Dos Santos]."
The head coach who was hired in December after spending the previous four seasons as an LAFC assistant, Dos Santos “obviously had a lot to do with what we thought was really good about LAFC,” Thorrington added, “but he had some ideas on how to tweak things. And what is really impressive is that Marc and the staff, both new and old, have begun implementing these tweaks. And the fact that they're already evident just a few short weeks into training is really impressive, how the players have taken on the ideas. There's a really great energy in the group. Everything is positive. Everybody is really buying in. The commitment, the attitude of the players and staff has been really impressive so far.”
Thorrington called the regular-season opener against Inter Miami, at the 77,000-seat Los Angeles Coliseum, “a game that we're all incredibly excited about. It'll be LAFC's first ever game in the Coliseum. It'll be— if not the biggest crowd we've ever played in front of, it’s certainly up there. We are so excited about the game, about the excitement that you can feel in the city and the buildup to that game … We will treat it as we should.
“We certainly felt like we were a team that could have won MLS Cup last year. We didn't. They did. And we also have the memory of them knocking us out in Champions League that I know our guys as competitors that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, and we certainly want to avenge those feelings from last season in front of a packed house at the Coliseum.”
LAFC kicks off its 2026 MLS regular season on February 21, against Inter Miami, at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Black & Gold’s home opener at BMO Stadium is scheduled for March 7 against FC Dallas. Visit the club’s 2026 schedule and season ticket membership pages for more information.
