What’s good, Los Angeles! While match day one of group stage play continues in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, LAFC representatives in the tournament have already wrapped up their opening games, in what was a successful first match for the boys of black & gold. Heung-Min Son saw his South Korean side complete a dramatic comeback win over Czechia, while the Canadian delegation saw their team finally secure the nation’s first-ever World Cup result with a draw against Bosnia. This is how the black & gold did in match day one at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
7⃣🇰🇷 pic.twitter.com/t04qg7QDXU
— LAFC (@LAFC) June 12, 2026
Let’s start with the second match of the tournament, Sonny’s South Korea team were taking on Czechia in a match that had second-placed implications for Group A, with Mexico the heavy favorites to win the group. This match did not disappoint as it gave us goals and drama with South Korea scoring an 80th minute winner courtesy of Hyun-Gyu Oh, as South Korea secured the three points with a 2-1 win. While his team was able to mount a comeback for the win, individually, we saw Son continue his struggles in attack from a goalscoring standpoint. He played 70 minutes before being subbed off for the player who eventually bagged the winner, he did finish with the most shots of the team with six, with an xG of 1.01, but only having just one of his shots hit the target, and no goals on the day. It’s hard to really pinpoint where the struggles stem from, presuming if anyone really knew it would get fixed sooner than later, but from a tactical perspective, due to some players being unavailable, we saw Son playing centrally in attack, in the 9 role. Despite being a great forward, he tends to be a lot more effective on the wings, than he is having to work directly up the middle, so perhaps that is still contributing to his struggles, but time will tell. Here’s hoping he can shake off some of these yips and get back to his prolific scoring ways.
Ready to get underway 🔜 pic.twitter.com/au2Pn5wTEe
— LAFC (@LAFC) June 12, 2026
Canada did something in the opening match that they have never done before in World Cup competition, they secured a point! That’s right, our northern neighbors came into this match boasting six matches, six losses in previous World Cup tournaments, and a feisty Bosnia were itching to make that 7 for 7 on losses. Despite going down early, Canada kept pushing and eventually got the equalizer they had been looking for.
LAFC fans who watched the match were treated to a real treat as midfielder Stephen Eutàquio was the only member of the black & gold to get the start, and he was far and away the best player on the pitch on the day. For all intents and purposes, he went the full 90 minutes, subbed off just before stoppage time began, and while he only had one shot that didn’t find the target, he was absolutely pulling the strings for Canada. Eustàqio finished with 42/47 accurate passes, went 4/9 on accurate crosses, 2/3 on accurate long balls, accumulated 67 touches, three of which were in the opponent’s box and six were passes into the final third creating chances for his team. Really, it’s a wonder he couldn’t come away with an assist on the day.
LAFC forward Jacob Shaffelburg was deployed in the midfield for Canada, eventually working his way toward the attack after being subbed into the match in the 61st minute. He had a pretty solid outing in his short time on the pitch, tallying 13 touches with one pass into the final third and going 1/1 on accurate crosses, but 0/1 on accurate long balls. Again, with just under 30 minutes of match time, we didn’t see him blow the doors of the place, but he was able to get valuable World Cup minutes which is always great to see for our guys. Sadly, we cannot say the same about midfielder Mathieu Choinière who was part of the 18, but finished the match as an unused sub. It’s only the first match of the tournament so hopefully we see more of him in the next two matches.
All in all, it was a great World Cup opening for our boys. They helped their respective teams, they put in solid shifts when given the chance, and look to make their mark on the world’s stage. South Korea will have their hands full in their next match, as they take on current Group A leaders (due to goal differential) Mexico, from Guadalajara, right in the heart of the country. This match will almost definitely be the deciding match in which of the two wins the group, and which will be fighting to secure second on the final match day of group stage. That match will be on June 18th with kickoff at 6pm PST. Canada are also in action on June18th, kicking off at 3pm PST, facing off against the last-placed team in Group B, Qatar. As always, we have you covered in the lead-up and post of the action.
Thoughts on how LAFC have done in their World Cup openers? Drop us a line below!