Son Heung-min's LAFC eliminated from Leagues Cup tournament
Los Angeles FC forward Son Heung-Min gestures to fans after defeating Queretaro in a Leagues Cup soccer match Wednesday, Aug. 12. AP-Yonhap
Son Heung-min and his Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) have been eliminated from a continental club tournament.
LAFC ended up in fifth place in their group when the opening phase of the Leagues Cup concluded Thursday (U.S. time), as only the top four clubs advanced to the knockout round.
The Leagues Cup features 36 teams from Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Mexican circuit Liga MX. Teams played three matches against opponents from the other league, and the four teams from each side progressed to the quarterfinals.
LAFC were clinging to third place with seven points when they completed their opening phase Wednesday with a 5-3 shootout win over Club Queretaro. Earlier, LAFC had beaten Chivas de Guadalajara 5-4 on penalties and then defeated Toluca FC 1-0. In the opening phase, a regulation win was worth three points, a shootout victory was worth two points and a shootout loss was still good for one point.
Austin FC and Chicago Fire FC each had six points with one match remaining Thursday, and both clubs won their final games to push LAFC out of the top four.
Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake joined Austin FC and Chicago Fire FC in the quarterfinals from the MLS side.
The four Liga MX clubs moving on to the quarterfinals are: Club Leon, Club America, Toluca FC and CF Monterrey.
Son converted his shot during Wednesday's shootout win but did not have an official goal at the Leagues Cup.