Following Canada’s exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Morocco on Saturday, the Los Angeles Football Club’s influence on the tournament, such that it was, is at an end.
With Canada’s 3-0 defeat in the Round of 16, LAFC knows that at least two of its three players from that World Cup squad should reunite with head coach Marc Dos Santos and the boys for a nationally televised match on FOX against the Galaxy on July 17 at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Midfielders Stephen Eustáquio and Mathieu Choinière and winger Jacob Shaffelburg joined Canada after LAFC’s much-needed 1-0 regular season victory against Seattle on May 24 at BMO Stadium.
Eustáquio made headlines with his late game-winner that finished South Africa’s tournament in the Round of 32 last Sunday in Inglewood.
Two days later marked the expiration of a six-month loan for the 29-year-old talent from FC Porto, which came with the expectation that he would get plenty of minutes to build up to the World Cup.
Fit to the start the season, LAFC played tremendous soccer as Eustáquio calmly choreographed the team. Then he took a knock from a referee and endured a recovery that sent him to Portugal for a month.
With Eustáquio playing to or near the final whistle in four of Canada’s five games, the World Cup proved he is fully recovered.
“It wasn’t necessarily my plan to prepare him for a World Cup to knock out my home country of South Africa,” LAFC co-president and general manager John Thorrington joked Friday. “But that’s the way things go.”
LAFC holds an option to buy Eustáquio, and Thorrington said nothing has been finalized as far as his return or departure goes. If Eustáquio leaves, LAFC will lean on Brazilian midfielder Igor Jesus, who is back in training after an ACL tear last year.
Guaranteed to return are Shaffelburg, 26, who appeared in five games off the bench and brought energy each time, as well as Choinière, 27, who got an hour during a group stage start against Switzerland.
LAFC’s other World Cup selection, forward Son Heung-min of the Korea Republic, fell well short of expectations when he and his countrymen bowed out following the group stage.
Like he has this year with LAFC, Son played as a 9 for Korea, and in doing so did not appear particularly dangerous. Among the few soccer stars who failed to shine in the 2026 tournament, Son has not returned to LAFC since the group reassembled for its second preseason.
The attacker, who turns 34 in a few days, should be available for the first El Trafico of the year.
“We all feel very connected to the players when they’re gone,” Thorrington said. “They have our support, both when we’re celebrating moments like Steph’s goal as well as the pain we share with someone like Sonny, whose tournament for the country did not go as planned and did not match the expectations they had going into the tournament.”
With a minimum of 22 games left (that would mean not advancing in Leagues Cup and missing the MLS Cup playoffs), LAFC is assured of a club-most 55 matches across all competitions in 2026 – an MLS-record fourth consecutive season with 50 or more.
Counted among the dozen MLS teams preparing to play competitive matches before the World Cup comes to a close July 19, LAFC’s total match tally won’t include a Sunday afternoon friendly against El Salvador at BMO Stadium, or a closed-door scrimmage at LAFC’s Liquid IV Performance Center on Friday versus Liga MX’s Club Tijuana.
EL SALVADOR AT LAFC
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: BMO Stadium