Tuesday, Feb. 17 | 7:00 p.m. PT
🏟 | Estadio Francisco Morazán; San Pedro Sula, Honduras
🖥 | FS2, TUDN, ConcacafGO, One Soccer (Canada), Coupang Play (Korea)
LAFC opens its 2026 competitive calendar with a 2,300-mile road trip to Honduras for the first of two matches against Honduran club Real CD España in Round One of the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.
The first leg, on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 7:00 p.m. PT, will be contested at Estadio Francisco Morazán in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. The clubs will play the second leg at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 7:00 p.m. PT.
Tuesday’s match marks LAFC’s second ever trip to Central America, and its first competitive contest of 2026, following six preseason friendlies in January and February against teams from Germany, the U.S., and Mexico.
Western Conference semifinalists a year ago, LAFC returns almost all of its roster following a season-ending run that saw the club go 9W-2L-4T after Korean star Son Heung-Min joined the Black & Gold last August. Son’s instant connection with Denis Bouanga, a three-time MLS All Star and LAFC’s all-time leading scorer, only figures to grow in 2026 after that pair accounted for 25 goals and eight assists after Son came on board last summer. At one point in ’25, Son and Bouanga scored 18 straight goals for LAFC, a new MLS record for a duo.
ALSO READ: Bouanga & Son: Year Two
New head coach Marc Dos Santos takes over after spending the previous four seasons as an LAFC assistant coach. In those four seasons, LAFC won an MLS Cup, a U.S. Open Cup and more than 100 games in all competitions while scoring more goals and earning more wins and points than any other club in MLS.
“Marc obviously had a lot to do with what we thought was really good about LAFC,” President and GM John Thorrington said two weeks ago, “but he had some ideas on how to tweak things. And what is really impressive is Marc and the staff, both new and old”—LAFC added assistant coaches Andy Rose and Xavi Tamarit this offseason—”have begun implementing these tweaks. And the fact that they’re already evident just a few short weeks into training is really impressive.”
Dos Santos’ ideas will be on display Tuesday in Honduras. The winner on aggregate (combined) goals over the two matches will move on to face Costa Rican club Alajuelense in another two-leg matchup in the CCC Round of 16 in mid-March.
As Concacaf’s early rounds get underway, LAFC will simultaneously embark on its MLS regular season, which kicks off on March 21 against Inter Miami at the LA Coliseum. All told, the Black & Gold will play four games in a 12-day span in both competitions. To meet those demands LAFC has added depth to its roster in the preseason, adding midfielders Stephen Eustáquio and Amin Boudri, and forwards Tyler Boyd and Jacob Shaffelburg, to an attack that already included Son, Bouanga, Nathan Ordaz (eight goals and seven assists in all competitions in ’25), and David Martínez (six goals, four assists).
Ordaz (age 22) and Martínez (20) were the only two teammates to rank in the Top 10 of MLS’s annual 22 Under 22 list last season.
Additionally, every midfielder and defender who started LAFC’s final playoff match last fall is back for 2026. Legendary goalkeeper Hugo Lloris begins his third season in Black & Gold as one of just two MLS goalies to earn at least 12 clean sheets in each of the last two seasons.
Nicknamed Los Aurinegros (gold and black), Real Club Deportivo España was founded 96 years ago and plays in Honduras’ top division, the Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Honduras. Real España has won the league title 12 times and earned its place in this year’s CCC by reaching the semifinals of the 2025 Central American Cup.
España will face LAFC on short rest. On Saturday, Feb. 14, Real España played a Liga Nacional Clausuramatch against CD Choloma, winning 2-1 at home as defender Daniel Aparicio and center forward Eddie Hernandez provided the goals. Real España is unbeaten in its last six league games (4W-0L-2D), conceding only five goals in that span. Los Aurinegros are currently in first place in the Liga Nacional Clausura standings.
Defender Devron Garcia (age 29) played briefly for MLS club Orlando City in 2016 and currently leads Real España in minutes played this season.
This two-leg matchup will feature two World Cup veteran goalkeepers, both of whom have worn LAFC colors. First, of course, there’s Lloris, two-time World Cup finalist, 2018 World Cup champion, and LAFC’s all-time leader in wins, clean sheets, and appearances in goal. Real España goalie Luis “Buba” Lopez (pictured below) played for LAFC in 2018, on loan from Real España. Lopez played one MLS match that season, a 2-0 loss to Sporting KC on Aug. 11, 2018 (in which he conceded a penalty-kick goal to SKC midfielder and future LAFC captain Ilie Sánchez).
Lopez returned to Real España following his loan period and has been there ever since. Now 32, Lopez has earned more than 50 caps for Honduras’ national team, which was eliminated from FIFA World Cup 2026 contention in November 2025.
Lopez was on Honduras’ roster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He was Honduras’ first-choice goalkeeper at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where the Hondurans were eliminated by Brazil in the semi-finals. Lopez started the bronze-medal match in which Honduras fell to Nigeria.
LAFC has had two Honduran players, defender Denil Maldonado (21 appearances, 19 starts in 2023), and defender Andy Najar (eight appearances, one start for LAFC in 2020) who was a 2025 MLS All-Star with Nashville SC. Both have played with Lopez on the Honduras national team.
LAFC has no current players from Central America, although LA native Matt Evans joined the national team of Guatemala (which borders Honduras) last year during 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying.
ABOUT CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP
The 61st edition of the Concacaf Champions Cup will be played between February and May 2026. The annual tournament is comprised of five direct elimination rounds and features the top 27 clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Round One will begin in early February, followed by the Round of 16 in March, the Quarterfinals in April, the Semifinals spanning April and May, and the Final on Saturday, May 30.
Its world-class attacking talent imposes its will. The combination of Son, Bouanga, and whoever fills the other wing and attacking midfield spots (Ordaz? Martínez? Boudri? Tim Tillman?) is a lot for any club to handle. Real España excels in its domestic league through airtight defending and the experienced goalkeeping of Lopez. If LAFC’s runners can invade the home side’s 18-yard box early and often, the Black & Gold can return to BMO Stadium with an aggregate-goal lead and a clear path to the next round.
It hangs on in the first half by defending in deep positions and attacking quickly on the break. If a successful counterattack, set-piece, or an LAFC error gives the Hondurans the game’s first goal, the 20,000 on hand at the Morazán will come alive, and believe.
LAFC kicks off its 2026 MLS regular season on February 21, against Inter Miami, at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Leg two of its CCC matchup with Real España will be played at BMO Stadium on February 24. The Black & Gold’s MLS home opener at BMO is scheduled for March 7 against FC Dallas. Visit the club’s 2026 schedule and season ticket membership pages for more information.
