Can Son Heung-min (34, LAFC) score his first Major League Soccer (MLS) goal of the season?
LAFC is facing Dallas on the 3rd round of the 2026 MLS regular season at LA's BMO Stadium at 12:30 p.m. on the 8th (Korea time). The two teams finished the first half scoreless.
The home side LAFC started in a 4-3-3 formation. Deni Buanga–Son Heung-min–David Martinez, Marco Delgado–Stephen Eustáquio–Timothy Tillman, Eddie Segura–Enkosi Tapari–Ryan Porteous–Sergi Palencia, Hugo Lloris took the field first.
The visiting side Dallas lined up in a 3-5-2 formation. Petar Musa–Logan Paterson, Bernard Camungo–Cristian Cápis–Hamiru–Joaquín Balliente–Hermann Johansson, Sebastien Ibeagha–Osaze Urojide–Shaqeel Moore, Michael Kolodziej made up the starting lineup.
Son Heung-min was cautioned for simulation. He ran toward the goalkeeper rushing out of his goal in the 10th minute of the first half and fell. But there was no heavy contact with a defender, and Son did not claim a foul. The referee judged that he intentionally dived and issued a yellow card.
While LAFC struggled with pressure, Dallas took consecutive shots. In the 17th minute of the first half, Paterson attempted a turning shot from the area in front of the arc, but it lacked power and was easily caught by Lloris. A minute later, Hamiru took a committed volley, but that too headed straight for Lloris.
Son Heung-min's fourth league assist was regrettably aborted. In the 23rd minute of the first half, he dropped behind the defensive line to draw attention and threaded a pass to the advancing Buanga. It looked like another combined goal from the "Heungbu duo," but Buanga's shot brushed the goalkeeper's fingertips.
Dallas's onslaught continued. In the 28th minute of the first half, from a corner kick attack the ball that spilled out was connected by Camungo into a sharp long-range shot. It would not have been surprising had it gone into the net, but once again Lloris stretched out his arm and parried it. Camungo's cross in the subsequent attack almost turned into a goal as well, but it did not land on Urojide's head.
Son Heung-min swallowed his disappointment. In the 44th minute of the first half, Tillman fed the ball to Son Heung-min as he cut in to the left on a decisive counterattack. Son used stepovers with both feet to unbalance the defense and, with no angle, fired a left-footed shot that the goalkeeper touched with his toe. The first half ended 0-0.
Son Heung-min is eyeing his first league goal of the season against Dallas. He provided assists in the previous two matches. In the season opener against Inter Miami, who faced Lionel Messi, he set up Martinez with an accurate pass for the opening goal, helping the team to a 3-0 rout.
Son Heung-min put on a one-man show against Houston in the previous match. He provoked two opponent dismissals and in the 11th minute of the second half assisted Marco Delgado's opening goal. Late in the match he added an MLS-designated "secondary assist" with a pass that initiated the move, bringing his league assist total to three.
However, he still has not scored his first goal. Son Heung-min scored 1 goal and provided 3 assists, including a penalty, in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup against Real España last month, but in MLS matches he has only recorded assists. If he shakes the Dallas net on this day, it will be his first league goal and his first field goal of the season. Additionally, if LAFC wins, the club would complete its first-ever season-opening three-game winning streak.
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