Los angeles: Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) and their South Korean superstar Son Heung-min are moving on to the semifinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup. LAFC played the defending champions Cruz Azul to a 1-1 draw in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the regional tournament at Estadio Cuauhtemoc in Puebla, Mexico, on Tuesday (local time). Having won the first leg 3-0 in LA last week, LAFC advanced to the semifinals on a 4-1 aggregate victory.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Son got the start and played the full match but did not factor into scoring. In the opening leg, he scored his team's first goal. In the semifinals, LAFC will play the winner of the quarterfinal series between Deportivo Toluca FC and LA Galaxy. Toluca won the opening leg 4-2, and their return leg will be Wednesday.

This is LAFC's third trip to the semifinals, following 2020 and 2023. They went on to lose in the finals in both years. Since their inaugural year in 2018, LAFC are the only Major League Soccer club to reach three Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals.

"I know we eliminated a great club, a great champion, and a team that gave us a lot of trouble. Qualifying was tough," LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos said. "Now there are no favorites. Everyone who makes it to the semifinals is strong."

Gabriel Fernandez scored a penalty goal for Cruz Azul in the 18th minute, giving the Mexican side hope for a massive comeback. But LAFC hung tough despite being badly outshot: Cruz Azul had 31 shot attempts and 10 shots on goal, compared with six shot attempts and one on target for LAFC. Denis Bouanga had the lone LAFC goal with a late penalty in the second half.

This year's Concacaf Champions Cup began with 27 clubs from the United States, Mexico, Canada, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Dominican Republic. Four teams each from the U.S. and Mexico made it to the quarterfinals.