Preview | LAFC vs. Cruz Azul – Concacaf Champions Cup Quarterfinals – Leg One

🏟 | BMO Stadium – Los Angeles, CA

Unbeaten by means of ten matches for the primary time in membership historical past, LAFC returns its focus to Concacaf Champions Cup, welcoming Cruz Azul of Liga MX into BMO Stadium on Tuesday night time for the primary leg of their two-sport, dwelling-and-away matchup within the Quarterfinals of the area’s most prestigious membership competitors.

The second leg might be performed subsequent Tuesday, April 14, at Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla, Mexico, with the winner on combination (mixed) targets advancing to the Concacaf Champions Cup Semifinals to face the winner of the Quarterfinal between Toluca (Liga MX) and Galaxy (MLS).

Concacaf Champions Cup is a 27-group continental match that takes place from February by means of May and options the highest 27 groups in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The winner of the CCC Final on May 30 earns a berth within the FIFA Club World Cup in 2029.

LAFC is off to the very best begin in membership historical past – and top-of-the-line begins in MLS historical past – with an total document of 8W-0L-2D, together with 3W-0L-1D in Concacaf Champions Cup. The Black & Gold is the one unbeaten group in Major League Soccer, and is the primary membership in MLS historical past to document six straight clear sheets to start out a season. In all competitions in 2026, LAFC has outscored opponents 24-3. At dwelling, LAFC is 5W-0L-1D in all competitions, with clear sheets in 5 of these six video games.

Goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris is coming off his strongest efficiency of the yr up to now, a six-save effort in a 6-0 win over Orlando City on Saturday night time that marked the previous France captain’s thirtieth profession shutout in MLS play in simply over two seasons.

Forward Son Heung-Min recorded 4 assists towards Orlando and leads all of Major League Soccer with seven assists. Son’s 4 assists in Concacaf Champions Cup play this yr rank second within the competitors, and first amongst gamers whose golf equipment are nonetheless taking part in within the Quarterfinal spherical.

Son’s principal attacking accomplice, Denis Bouanga, tallied a hat trick towards Orlando and has scored a group-excessive eight targets in 2026 throughout all competitions, together with 4 in CCC play (tied for second-most within the competitors).

LAFC has appeared in Concacaf Champions Cup (which was referred to as Concacaf Champions League till 2024) 4 instances within the membership’s 9-yr historical past and has reached the Quarterfinal spherical in all 4 appearances. LAFC superior all the way in which to the CCC Final in 2020 and 2023 earlier than falling quick towards Liga MX golf equipment Tigres UANL and Club León, respectively.

In this yr’s CCC, the Black & Gold defeated Real España of Honduras in Round One and Alajuelense of Costa Rica within the Round of 16 to succeed in this Quarterfinal assembly with Cruz Azul.

Cruz Azul obtained right here by advancing previous Vancouver FC of the Canadian Premier League and fellow Liga MX energy CF Monterrey.

Founded in 1927 and nicknamed The Machine (The Machine), Cruz Azul is the reigning CCC champion, having defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps of MLS within the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup Final. No membership has received extra CCC/CCL trophies than Cruz Azul’s seven (tied with Club América).

Cruz Azul is taken into account a part of the Big Four of Mexican soccer – together with Club América, Chivas de Guadalajara, and Pumas UNAM – and is one among solely seven Mexican golf equipment to have by no means been relegated from the nation’s prime division.

The solely earlier assembly between LAFC and Cruz Azul was the Concacaf Champions League Quarterfinals on December 16, 2020. Due to COVID, ten months handed between that yr’s Round of 16 and the Quarterfinals, which was decreased to a single leg as a substitute of two legs.

In an empty Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Carlos Vela scored LAFC’s opening purpose on a penalty kick within the thirty eighth minute. After Cruz Azul equalized, 19-yr-previous LAFC ahead Kwadwo “Mahala” Opoku (at the moment with CF Montrèal) scored on a volley from distance to interrupt a 1-1 tie within the 71st minute and ship the Black & Gold to the Semifinals.

Defender Eddie Segura (beneath) is the one present LAFC participant who performed in that match.

That yr (2020) LAFC grew to become the primary MLS group to beat three Liga MX groups in a single Concacaf match.

Cruz Azul’s present roster contains former LAFC defender and 2024 US Open Cup hero Omar Campos, who starred in La Maquina’s Round-of-16 defeat of Monterrey final month, logging two assists in 178 minutes.

Led by head coach Nicolás Larcamón, Cruz Azul is at the moment in second place within the Liga MX Clausura desk with a document of 8W-2L-3D. The Mexico City-based membership has scored 24 targets in league play and conceded 14 for a purpose differential of +10. On Saturday night time, Cruz Azul fell to rival league Pachuca 2-1, at Estadio Cuauhtémoc. (This season Cruz Azul is taking part in its dwelling matches at Cuauhtémoc, 70 miles from Mexico City, as a consequence of renovations at its common dwelling, Estadio Azteca.

Twenty-one-yr-previous attacker Luka Romero has scored a group-excessive three targets for Cruz Azul in CCC 2026; all three got here in a 5-0 win over Vancouver FC in Round One. At age 15, Romero grew to become the youngest participant to play in a prime-5 European League when he debuted for La Liga membership Mallorca in 2020.

Forward Gabriel Fernández has taken 14 pictures in CCC play this yr, third amongst all gamers within the competitors. Fernández leads Cruz Azul and ranks seventh in Liga MX with seven targets in league play.

Argentine midfielder José Paradela scored a dramatic backheel equalizer for Cruz Azul within the second leg towards Monterrey. In that pivotal match Paradela led his group in pictures on course (4) and passes within the closing third (20). Paradela leads Cruz Azul and ranks fourth in Liga MX with 5 assists in league play.

Veteran purpose scorer Nicolas Ibañez (age 31) joined Cruz Azul two months in the past from Tigres. He normally mans the quantity-9 spot atop La Maquina’s 3-4-2-1 formation. Ibañez has scored two targets in CCC this yr.

Cruz Azul has conceded simply three targets in 4 CCC matches thus far in 2026. Veteran goalkeeper Andrés Gudiño began each legs towards Monterrey, whereas 20-yr-previous prospect Guillermo Ochoa began in Round One towards Vancouver. The membership is eagerly awaiting the return of goalkeeper Kevin Mier (age 25), who received the Best Goalkeeper Award within the 2025 CCC earlier than struggling a damaged leg in November. Last month Wed performed his first match since his damage – a Liga MX fixture towards Mazatlán.

It lifts its degree. While actually spectacular, LAFC’s unbeaten document in ten video games thus far this yr was not constructed towards groups with Cruz Azul’s high quality or pedigree. Top Mexican golf equipment can afford to construct world-class rosters with out the constraints of a wage cap, whereas MLS groups play by totally different guidelines.

LAFC, which has arguably the deepest and Most worthy squad in MLS, should draw from its unequalled dwelling help Tuesday night time because it faces essentially the most spectacular roster its seen since going through Chelsea and Flamengo within the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

It quiets the BMO Stadium crowd with a efficiency backed by a century of custom. No Mexican group has performed extra Concacaf Champions Cup matches than Cruz Azul (119)—or logged extra wins (69) or scored extra targets (271). La Maquina made its first Champions Cup look in 1968, ten years earlier than LAFC GM and Co-President John Thorrington was born.

That is the historical past that may march into LA on Tuesday night time to face a membership dedicated to creating historical past of its personal.