Credit: Cedric Jones(CedJay Photography)/EVT Sports
In what has become a tight race for the conference and Supporters’ Shield titles, San Diego FC is at the forefront of it all. While all of the six matches left in the regular season are important, the next two weeks have more weight to them. The fact that SDFC has clinched a playoff spot after tying the Portland Timbers last weekend should not be a distraction from the importance of playing with the same will and intensity as in matches prior.
The first major test will come this Sunday when San Diego travels to Los Angeles to face Los Angeles FC in a hostile, packed stadium environment. The stars of Hollywood will be out as LAFC’s newest signing, Heung-Min Son, will make his home debut. What impact will that have on San Diego’s intentions?
Let’s dive in.
Scouting The Opposition
The last time SDFC and LAFC met four months ago, San Diego went up 3-0 in the first half. They ended up winning that game 3-2 after a strong comeback effort from their neighbors to the north. LAFC’s high press punished a young San Diego team when playing out of the back. Undoubtedly, SDFC have gotten much better in passing around their goal since then, but we should expect another flurry of high press attacking from the LAFC side.
LAFC currently sit in 5th place with a record of 11-8-6, tallying a total of 41 points. Due to their involvement in other leagues, they have played the lowest number of matches out of any team in the MLS (25). With multiple games in hand, LAFC set its sights on a fourth consecutive top-four finish.
In the last five MLS matches, the Black and Gold have won only one, tied three, and lost one. They have no problem scoring goals; it’s the defensive struggles as of late that are keeping them from earning more points. In those last five games, LAFC has given up seven goals while scoring eight.
LAFC’s defensive concerns won’t get any easier against San Diego, a side tied with San Jose for the most goals in the Western Conference (52). Adding to the challenge, LAFC will be without standout defender Ryan Hollingshead, who is serving a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation. His spot at left wing-back will likely be filled by Artem Smolyakov, who made his mark the last time these teams met with a stunning strike from outside the box.
Similar Play Styles
Similar to San Diego, LAFC prefers to dictate play through controlled possession in their own half. They currently rank fifth in MLS for time of possession, while San Diego sits second. LAFC invites teams to press high and relies on its skilled midfielders to be outlets for the wing-backs, who also like to push up into the attack.
A look at their passing map from the last game against FC Dallas shows a strong ball possession in their own half with distribution out to the wings. Wide play tends to stretch opposing team formations and open up space in the middle. Much like San Diego, LAFC plays a 4-3-3 formation, but the intent is to overload the middle, where the possession is often contested. As a result, their 4-3-3 becomes a 2-5-3 while they overwhelm the opposing side with numbers in the attacking third.
LAFC passing map vs FC Dallas
The Heung-Min Son Effect
Heung-min Son LAFC Reveal Credit: The Japan Times
Perhaps the biggest news of the year in MLS is the signing of Korean superstar Heung-Min Son from Tottenham. Son arrived in Los Angeles with higher intentions. Like Lionel Messi, David Beckham, and many other international stars, Son hopes to make MLS bigger. In a year where MLS spent a record-breaking $336 million on transfers, Son sees a bright future.
This Sunday will be a home debut for Son. The BMO Stadium is expected to provide a loud, raucous atmosphere with many Angelinos excited to take in Son’s first match in Los Angeles. It only took two matches for him to get his first goal. Son smashed a beautiful free-kick curling shot from outside the box in Dallas last weekend. Like the few greats of the game, he brings that special bit of skill that can alter the final score.
Son is complemented by left-winger Denis Bouanga, the team’s leading scorer and playmaker with 14 goals and seven assists. David Martinez may start on the right side of Son. The young Venezuelan has shown flashes of greatness with his speed and skillful abilities to get around defenders. San Diego will face a challenging task of keeping the dangerous attackers at bay.
LAFC predicted lineup
San Diego Up for the Challenge
After clinching the playoffs last weekend—the first team in the league to do so—head coach Mikey Varas posed a simple question to his players: “What’s next?” For Varas and his staff, the challenge now is keeping the squad sharp, motivated, and focused on what lies ahead rather than settling.
Truth is, there are more records to chase, and SDFC is up for the challenge. A win over LAFC would see San Diego match St. Louis City’s expansion-team record for victories. It would also move them within a single point of breaking the all-time expansion points record, set in 2018 by none other than LAFC.
They’ll have to do so collectively. Marcus Ingvartsen continues to be questionable to play, adding to a deep list of injuries that San Diego FC is dealing with. Ingvartsen was held out of the last match against the Portland Timbers as a precautionary move. Varas mentioned that the team is slowly easing him back into form. Depending on how this week in training went, Ingvartsen could be available to start in the nine-role due to Corey Baird walking off with an injury in the last match.
SDFC’s strong road record will be a factor that LAFC will have to deal with. The Chrome and Azul welcome the underdog mentality and always go for three points in opposing stadiums. San Diego is riding a six-game unbeaten road streak that is a record for an expansion team. They’ll look to extend that streak to seven on Sunday.
SDFC predicted lineup
International Call Ups
SDFC announced that ten players from their roster will be required to represent their respective countries in international competitions.
Anders Dreyer (Denmark), Aníbal Godoy (Panama), Paddy McNair (Northern Ireland), and Onni Valakari (Finland) have been named to World Cup qualifying rosters.
Chucky Lozano (Mexico) and Luca de la Torre (USA) have been called upon to represent their countries in international friendlies.
The players listed above will be on senior national team duty, but they won’t miss any MLS action. San Diego has a one-week break in league play, with their next match scheduled for August 13 against Minnesota.
SDFC Call Ups Credit: SDFC
U.S. U-20 Call Ups
Mikey Varas’ strategy of rostering U.S. U-20 players has paid off so far, with numerous youngsters stepping up in a significant way. San Diego FC leads the Western Conference, and these players have a lot to do with all of the recent success. It’s times like these that can be an unfavorable factor for SDFC, though. The United States U-20 men’s national team is hosting a training camp in preparation for the World Cup. The training camp will take place from September 1 to 8 in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain.
Luca Bombino, Duran Ferree, Pedro Soma, and David Vazquez all made the roster. Group stage games for the U-20 World Cup take place from September 29 to October 5. The Final is set for October 19. It’s possible that they will miss up to four regular-season MLS matches, but should be back in time for the playoffs.
Sunday night promises an electric atmosphere, with plenty on the line for both sides. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PST, with coverage available on Apple TV+.
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Dmitry Anisimov is a San Diego native who played soccer up to the college level when he represented the SDSU Men’s Club Soccer team. Growing up in San Diego, Dmitry is a fan of all the home teams but he specifically couldn’t wait until San Diego got an MLS team. Once that dream became reality, Dmitry married his love for writing and the game of soccer to portray a voice of the San Diego soccer community. There is a deep-rooted love of soccer culture in San Diego and Dmitry hopes to bring it to light through his pre and post-game coverage of all things San Diego FC.
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