'Son Heung-min to Start Again' Set to Make Final Home Appearance Ahead of National Team Call-Up... LAFC Desperately Needs Victory to Climb Up the Table

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

South Korea national football team 'captain' Son Heung-min (LAFC) is set to start in his club's final regular-season home game ahead of joining the squad for the November international break.

LAFC will face Minnesota United at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California, at 10:30 a.m. on the 2nd (Korean time), in a home match of the 2026 Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season.

LAFC's starting lineup was announced ahead of the match. Son Heung-min is included in the list.

LAFC will deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation. Denis Bouanga will lead the line as the striker, while Son Heung-min will be positioned as the central attacking midfielder, forming the second-line attack alongside Leo Baita and Armando Zepeda.

Igor Jesus and Mathieu Chianese will partner in midfield. The defense will consist of Edy Segura, Aaron Long, Ryan Porter, and Sergi Palencia. Hugo Lloris will guard the goal.

This match is also quite important for LAFC. Currently, LAFC has a record of 12 wins, 11 draws, and 9 losses (47 points), ranking sixth in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, Minnesota sits in 13th place with 9 wins, 11 draws, and 12 losses (38 points).

LAFC has already secured a spot in the MLS Cup playoffs. However, with only two regular-season matches remaining, they must push to climb as high up the standings as possible.

In particular, the point gap between LAFC and fourth place in the Western Conference is just four points. If LAFC can break into the top four, they will gain the advantage of playing one additional home game in the first round of the playoffs.

Therefore, they must secure all three points against Minnesota to lay the groundwork for a leap up the standings.

Son Heung-min's performance is also crucial. This season, Son Heung-min has recorded 15 assists in MLS. He is closing in on the league's co-leading assist providers, Evander (FC Cincinnati) and Pep Biel (Charlotte FC), who both have 17 assists, by a margin of two.

This match against Minnesota will also be LAFC's final regular-season home game this season. LAFC will play their final away match against Seattle Sounders on the 8th.

Son Heung-min will then need to participate in the South Korea national team's November international schedule. The Korean team, led by interim coach Roberto Moreno, will play two consecutive away friendlies against Saudi Arabia on the 13th and Qatar on the 17th. This is the final international window of the year.

Son Heung-min is expected to join the national team after completing LAFC's remaining regular-season schedule.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original