Son Heung-min's LAFC eliminated from Leagues Cup

Son Heung-min and his Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) have been eliminated from a continental club tournament.

LAFC ranked fifth in their group when the opening phase of the Leagues Cup concluded on Thursday.

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 is worth three points, a shootout victory is worth two and a shootout loss is worth one.

Austin FC and Chicago Fire FC each had six points with one match remaining on Thursday, and both clubs won their final games to push LAFC out of the top four.

From the MLS side, Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake joined Austin FC and Chicago Fire FC in the quarterfinals.

The four Liga MX clubs heading 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 score an official goal at the Leagues Cup.

Yonhap