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Galaxy's turnaround season reflected in Tráfico turnaround win over LAFC

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Galaxy's turnaround season reflected in Tráfico turnaround win over LAFC

You don’t have to look long or far to spot the differences between this year’s Galaxy team and last year’s.

The lineup? Eight of the 11 players the Galaxy started in Saturday’s El Tráfico win over LAFC weren’t with the team at the start of last season. The standings? The Galaxy were 13th in the 14-team Western Conference table at this point last season, this year they have the second-best record in the league and are closing in on their first conference title since 2011.

And what about their record. Last year the Galaxy won eight games all season; they’ve already won twice as many this year, clinching a playoff berth with five games left.

For coach Greg Vanney, only the numbers have changed. The team’s values, philosophy and goals, he said, have remained constant. And that consistency, a little luck and a few other things the naked eye can’t see are what has really fueled the team’s best season in a decade.

“We had to sort out our roster a little bit. But the vision for what we wanted and how we felt the team could be successful didn’t change,” he said. “A lot of things have to come together for you to have a turnaround like we did. A lot of credit [goes] to just the vision for what we wanted to do, sticking to it, and then finding the players who fit into that vision.”

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Maybe. But there’s more to it than that.

Take Saturday, for example. Both teams needed a victory to improve their chances of winning the conference and securing home-field advantage in the playoffs. So when LAFC, arguably the deepest team in MLS, ran out to a 2-0 lead in the opening 15 minutes, it appeared as if that issue had been decided.

Last year’s Galaxy would have quit at that stage. And it wasn’t a consistency in the team’s vision that brought them back Saturday. It was heart, grit, determination and a few other things the naked eye can’t see.

“To get punched in the mouth, to be down two. The response just showed a lot of maturity and a lot of belief,” Vanney said.

“In my nearly four years here, this is one of the proudest moments I’ve had of this group,” he continued. “The courage they showed and the personality they showed in the second half, it was fun to watch. They came together and believed in what they are doing and believed in the mission and got it done.”

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Want some more numbers? Three of the Galaxy’s four goals came in a 14-minute span early in the second half, two of them from Dejan Joveljic, who was starting for the first time in more than two months, and the other from Edwin Cerrillo, his first in MLS. Midfielder Riqui Puig, who had created zero scoring chances in his last three El Tráficos, scored the final goal to go with two assists.

“Sometimes people say ‘you don’t play a good game, you don’t make chances’,” Puig said. “But there are more things in the soccer than to make chances and to make goals. This year we have the pieces that maybe two years before, we didn’t have.

“To win the MLS [Cup], it’s very important for us.”

A year ago that was out of the question. But this year?

“We have a lot of work to do in these last [five] games,” Vanney said. “There’s a lot of things that will happen down the stretch. We’ve got a lot to do to win it, but we’ve been consistent. In order to stay in this race, you’ve got to have a consistently high level.”

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Especially since the Galaxy probably haven’t seen the last of their crosstown rivals this season. The team’s last two playoff appearances ended in losses at BMO Stadium, but after Saturday’s win the Galaxy (16-6-7) have a seven-point lead over LAFC (14-7-6) atop the Western Conference table.

If the Galaxy win the West they’ll play all their conference playoff games at Dignity Health Sports Park, where they are unbeaten this season.

“After last year, you don’t take anything for granted,” Vanney said. “Now our eyes are set on we control our destiny and trying to win the West, which positions us in the playoffs in what I believe is the best possible scenario.”

For LAFC, which has played in the last two MLS Cup finals, the stretch run this year will an arduous one made all the more challenging by a loss that left it winless in its last three MLS games. Fatigue was an issue Saturday, coach Steve Cherundolo said, and the schedule only gets tougher going forward. Including this month’s U.S. Open Cup final with Sporting Kansas City, LAFC will play eight times in 31 days.

Depth, then, will be key over the next month and this week’s return of former captain Carlos Vela could bolster that.

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“We’ll try to turn it around as fast as possible,” promised Cherundolo, whose team plays host to Austin on Wednesday.

You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.

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England’s Jordan Henderson officially ruled out after freak fall causes fracture, opts for surgery

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England’s Jordan Henderson officially ruled out after freak fall causes fracture, opts for surgery

A freak mishap Sunday night abruptly ended England midfielder Jordan Henderson’s 2026 World Cup.

Henderson, 36, spent the match on the bench in England’s 3-2 win, but quickly drew attention after falling over an advertising board, leaving him writhing in pain during a moment of victory for England.

England’s Jordan Henderson is stretchered off after suffering an injury during World Cup Round of 16 victory. (Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images) ((Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images))

Harry Kane celebrates with Jordan Henderson after England’s thrilling World Cup victory over Mexico Sunday. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) ((Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images))

On Monday, Henderson opted to undergo surgery, bringing an unusual ending to the World Cup campaign of one of England’s veteran leaders.

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ENGLAND PLAYER INJURES WRIST HOPPING OVER AD BOARD DURING TEAM’S WORLD CUP VICTORY CELEBRATION VS MEXICO

As the stadium speakers blasted Oasis, Henderson tried to climb over a pitch-side advertising board to celebrate with the traveling supporters. He lost his footing and landed awkwardly on his wrist.

WATCH:

England captain Harry Kane reacted to Henderson’s injury Sunday night after the match.

ENGLAND STUNS MEXICO 3-2 IN INSTANT WORLD CUP CLASSIC, HANDS TEAM FIRST WORLD CUP LOSS AT ESTADIO AZTECA

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“Yeah Hendo just fell over there. I think he’s OK. Something to do with his arm,” Kane said, unaware of the severity of Henderson’s injury at the time.

Dan Burn helps injured Jordan Henderson during England’s World Cup victory celebrations over Mexico Sunday. Surgery required for English vet. (Photo by Martín Fonseca/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images) ((Photo by Martín Fonseca/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images))

The celebrations quickly turned to concern as medical staff rushed onto the field, administered oxygen, and stretchered Henderson off the pitch.

Before the accident, Estadio Azteca hosted a World Cup classic. Jude Bellingham sparked England with a first-half brace before Harry Kane added a penalty. Mexico answered through Julian Quinones and a late Raul Jimenez penalty.

ENGLAND STUNS MEXICO 3-2 IN INSTANT WORLD CUP CLASSIC, HANDS TEAM FIRST WORLD CUP LOSS AT ESTADIO AZTECA

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Henderson watched the thriller from the bench, picking up a yellow card in the 98th minute for his touchline protests. The match fell into chaos when England defender Jarell Quansah was shown a straight red card, forcing the Three Lions to desperately hang on.

While manager Thomas Tuchel and the squad flew to Kansas City to prepare for a quarterfinal clash against Norway, Henderson remained hospitalized in Mexico City. England next faces Erling Haaland’s Norway on Saturday without the suspended Jarell Quansah.

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Henderson’s World Cup had its ups and downs. The last one ended it.

Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela

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U.S. hopes of a historic World Cup run on home soil shattered in loss to Belgium

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U.S. hopes of a historic World Cup run on home soil shattered in loss to Belgium

For three weeks, it was the best World Cup ever for the U.S.

The Americans scored more goals, won more games and generated more interest than any U.S. team in history. But all that glory gave way to grief Monday when a 4-1 loss to Belgium brought the U.S. crashing back to Earth.

Belgium never trailed, getting two first-half goals from Charles De Ketelaere and two in the second half from Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku to clinch a spot in the tournament quarterfinals, where it will face Spain on Friday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. For the U.S., whose lone goal came from Malik Tillman, its World Cup ended in the round of 16 for a fourth straight time.

U.S. players Tim Ream, center, Malik Tillman, left, and Folarin Balogun react after Belgium’s third goal on Monday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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The U.S. did win a knockout round game in the tournament for just the second time, but that came in a round of 32 necessitated by the World Cup’s expansion to 48 teams. All three tournament hosts, the U.S., Canada and Mexico, were eliminated in the round of 16.

The run-up to Monday’s game was clouded by the controversy surrounding U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, the Americans’ leading scorer, who wasn’t officially cleared to play until about seven hours before kickoff after FIFA rejected an appeal from the Royal Belgium Football Assn. The association was seeking to overturn an unusual ruling from the FIFA disciplinary committee, which on Sunday made Balogun eligible to play despite the fact he was shown a red card and expelled from his team’s previous game.

The red card also carried with it a ban from the team’s next game — in this case, the Belgium match — but FIFA suspended that penalty and imposed a one-year probation instead. It was just the second time in World Cup history — and the first since 1962 — that FIFA has held a red-card suspension in abeyance and allowed a player to participate in his team’s next game.

Balogun was active Monday, going the full 90 minutes, but Belgium kept him from getting on the scoreboard.

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Belgium, in fact, was on the front foot from the start, taking six shots and putting two on target in the first eight minutes before going ahead on De Ketelaere’s first goal in the ninth minute. De Ketelaere, starting over the more physical Lukaku, Belgium’s all-time leading scorer, got free on the edge of the six-yard box and ran onto a centering pass from Nicolas Raskin, then made the easy tap-in for his first World Cup goal.

The sequence followed Sergiño Dest’s decision to let a headed clearance attempt from Chris Richards bounce inside the penalty area, allowing Raskin to scoop up the loose ball and send it on to De Ketelaere, whose goal marked the first time the U.S. trailed in the first half hour of a game in this tournament. It was also the earliest goal the U.S. had allowed in a World Cup game since Nani scored for Portugal in the fifth minute of the second group stage game in Brazil in 2014.

The U.S. matched that in the 31st minute when Tillman deflected a free kick in off the head of Vanaken following a foul on Balogun. It was Tillman’s second free-kick goal in as many games, making him the second player since 1966 to score twice off direct free-kick goals in the same World Cup.

But the draw was short-lived, with De Ketelaere putting Belgium in front, where they would stay, two minutes later with his second score of the first half, this one a header over the back of U.S. captain Tim Ream. Leandro Trossard got the assist, bending a perfect back-post cross from the end line to his waiting teammate.

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Belgium dominated the opening half, outshooting the Americans 11-3 and putting five of those tries on goal, an edge U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino tried to address by subbing Dest off at halftime for Gio Reyna. It didn’t work, however, with Belgium expanding its lead on a major gaffe from U.S. keeper Matt Freese in the 57th minute.

Freese, who had given up just one goal in his first three starts, came well off his line to beat De Ketelaere to a loose ball, chesting it to the turf. But De Ketelaere poked a toe out to knock the ball back to Vanaken, who skipped a shot from about 30 yards past a retreating Ream and into the vacant goal.

After the goal, U.S. star Christian Pulisic was subbed out after sustaining an apparent leg injury while attempting a shot. He was limping on the field before being replaced by Sebastian Berhalter.

Lukaku, who came on in the 67th minute, closed out the scoring with a goal in stoppage time.

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The U.S., which was eliminated by Belgium in the round of 16 of the 2014 World Cup, hasn’t beaten the Red Devils since its opening match of the first World Cup in 1930.

U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese reacts after Belgium midfielder Hans Vanaken (not shown) scored against him.

U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese reacts after Belgium midfielder Hans Vanaken (not shown) scored against him in the second half of Belgium’s 4-1 win at the World Cup on Monday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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FIFA president addresses Trump call amid scrutiny over decision on USA World Cup star

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FIFA president addresses Trump call amid scrutiny over decision on USA World Cup star

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino released a statement on Monday addressing his interactions with President Donald Trump amid USA World Cup star Folarin Balogun’s suspended one-game ban.

Trump told reporters he asked Infantino if FIFA would review the play. Infantino said in his release that “FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent” and “operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code, and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them.”

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino answers questions during a 2026 soccer World Cup news conference Thursday, June 16, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

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“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues,” he said. “During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.

“I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree.

“What I always do, however, is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them. Whether we personally like a decision or not is irrelevant. Respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and the credibility of FIFA at all times.”

Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump as he receives the FIFA Peace Prize during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw. (Hector Vivas – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

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Balogun was given a red card after a VAR review to look at a play in which Balogun stepped on the ankle of a Bosnia and Herzegovina defender. He would have been suspended for the team’s match against Belgium but FIFA decided to suspend the one-game ban.

Trump addressed the controversy in the Oval Office.

“All I did was, I asked for a review, because I didn’t think it was a foul,” the president said. “And again, I’m good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes who crashed into each other and got entangled. That was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that would be different.

“I think it’s a terrible … if they wouldn’t allow a top player, maybe the best, maybe among the best on the team, to play, I think it would have had a big stain. I relayed it. I didn’t tell him what to do. I don’t believe he made the decision. I think it was a committee that made the decision and they made the right decision because, No. 1, it wasn’t a foul and you want to see a game with your best players.”

Trump said the feeling would be the same if Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Harry Kane would have been given a red card in a similar way.

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He also took issue with the call itself.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during a news conference at the stadium in Mexico City on June 10, 2026, a day before the opening FIFA World Cup match between Mexico and South Africa. (Eduardo Verdugo/AP)

“If you would have taken him out, I think it would have really stained this incredible championship,” Trump continued. “We gotta have our best players and Belgium, Belgium’s got a great team by the way. We have our best players and they have to have their best. If we win or we lose, it’s fair. Otherwise, let’s say we lost to them, then we lost the game. It would be a terrible thing. I think they made a really brilliant decision.

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“I think the referee’s call was horrible and nobody talks about that. They talk about the red card like it’s fine. The referee’s decision to red card, I didn’t know what the hell a red card was and when I found out I said, ‘You gotta be kidding.’ … I said, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of power, that’s terrible.’ And then I looked at his past and it wasn’t so great.”

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Belgium’s appeal was dismissed later Monday.

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