Denis Bouanga’s 1 goal, 2 assists help LAFC beat Sporting KC 3-1
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
LAFC defeats Kansas City to extend its unbeaten streak to nine games
Denis Bouanga had a goal and two assists, Eddie Segura scored his first goal since 2020 and LAFC extended its MLS unbeaten streak to nine games. Dejan Joveljic scored a goal for the fourth consecutive game to make it 1-0 in the 39th minute. Olivier Giroud capped the scoring in the third minute of stoppage time.
Denis Bouanga had a goal and two assists, Eddie Segura scored his first goal since 2020 and LAFC extended its MLS unbeaten streak to nine games with a 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City on Sunday night at BMO Stadium.
Bouanga converted from the penalty spot in the 59th to give LAFC (7-4-5), which had 56% possession and outshot Kansas City 21-5, a 2-1 lead.
Dejan Joveljic scored a goal for the fourth consecutive game when he ran onto a through ball played ahead by Manu García, and scored from near the penalty spot to make it 1-0 in the 39th minute.
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The 25-year-old Joveljic, who scored 15 goals and had six assists last season, is tied for third in MLS with 10 goals this season, including five in the past four games.
Segura slipped a header — off a corner kick played into the center of the area by Bouanga — inside the back post in first-half stoppage time to make it 1-1 at halftime.
Olivier Giroud capped the scoring in the third minute of stoppage time, the 38-year-old’s second consecutive game with a goal.
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John Pulskamp had four saves for Kansas City (4-9-4).
Hugo Lloris stopped one shot for LAFC.
LAFC vs Sporting Kansas City Preview, prediction, lineups, betting tips & odds | MLS 2025
Los Angeles FC host Sporting Kansas City in the Major League Soccer 2025 edition. The Black and Gold secured an easy win against the Wizards last time around. LAFC are coming in after securing a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 as they defeated Club America. The Wizards have not been able to secure a positive result against LAFC in the MLS in the last five games. The match will take place at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California on Monday, June 9 at 6.30 p.m. (GMT) The match is part of the Western Conference fixture of the MLS 2025 edition and will be shown live on the MLS website and on TV. Click here to follow the match LIVE. The game will be broadcast live on MLS website, TV and mobile devices. The live stream will be available on MLS.com and the MLS YouTube channel. CLICK HERE for all the latest from the MLS 25th anniversary and more.
Los Angeles FC are all set to host Sporting Kansas City in the Western Conference fixture of the Major League Soccer 2025 edition. The BMO Stadium is ready to witness the interesting clash between the two teams.
LAFC will be at home, which will be a big advantage for them. Los Angeles FC are coming in after securing a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 as they defeated Club America. Their confidence levels will be on the higher side as they have secured some easy wins against the Wizards in the past.
Sporting Kansas City are not in the best of form. They are placed 12th on the MLS points table of the Western Conference. After contesting 16 league fixtures this season, they have only been able to secure four wins. The Wizards have not been able to secure a positive result against the Black and Gold in the MLS.
Kick-off:
Location: Los Angeles, California
Stadium: BMO Stadium
Date: Monday, June 9
Kick-off Time: 06:30 IST/ 02:00 GMT [Sunday, June 8: 21:00 ET/ 18:00 PT]
Referee: TBD
VAR: In use
Form:
LAFC: D-W-D-D-W
Sporting Kansas City: L-D-D-D-W
Players to Watch
Denis Bouanga (LAFC)
In 14 Major League Soccer fixtures, Denis Bouanga has scored seven goals and has bagged three assists as well. The 30-year-old French forward scored a crucial goal in the previous match against Club America. He has scored four goals in his last five games and is going to play an important role in the attacking front for the hosts.
Dejan Jovelic (Sporting Kansas City)
The 25-year-old Serbian forward has come up with some good performances in the last few games for the Wizards. Dejan Jovelic helped Sporting Kansas City after scoring a brace in their last MLS fixture against the Houston Dynamo FC. He has 10 goal involvements in 15 league games for his side this season.
Was there ever any doubt ⁉️ @JoveljicDejan’s scissor kick is your Goal of the Matchday! #SportingKCpic.twitter.com/ArGEO1JeKm — Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) June 4, 2025
Match Facts
Sporting Kansas City have not won any of their last five matches against LAFC.
Los Angeles FC have defeated the Wizards in four of their last five games.
The Black and Gold are unbeaten in their last five games.
LAFC vs Sporting Kansas City: Betting Tips and Odds
LAFC to win @4/9 Ladbrokes
Denis Bounga to score @7/2 William Hill
Goals over 3.5 @11/10 bet365
Injury and Team News
Timothy Tillman is injured, hence keeping him out of action for LAFC.
Sporting Kansas City will be without the services of Daniel Rosero, Jacob Davis and a couple of other players as they are injured.
Head-to-Head
Total matches: 15
LAFC won: 9
Sporting Kansas City won: 4
Draws: 2
Predicted Lineups
LAFC predicted lineup (4-3-3)
Lloris (GK); Palencia, Long, Segura, Hollingshead; Yeboah, Jesus, Delgado; Ordaz, Giroud, Bouanga
Sporting Kansas City predicted lineup (4-3-3)
Pulskamp (GK); Shelton, Miller, Joaquin, Ndenbe; Garcia, Bartlett, Bassong; Thommy, Joveljic, Salloi
Match Prediction
The Black and Gold will have an upper hand against the Wizards as per their last few clashes. LAFC are likely to secure a win over Sporting Kansas City in the upcoming MLS 2025 match.
Prediction: LAFC 3-1 Sporting Kansas City
Telecast Details
Worldwide: Apple TV
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MLS players’ union says dispute over Club World Cup compensation is ongoing
Seattle Sounders, LAFC and Inter Miami are the only MLS clubs playing in the Club World Cup. Each team will earn $9.55 million as a club for participating in the tournament. The Major League Soccer Players Association believes the players are entitled to a bigger share of the funds. The league says it has agreed to provide additional performance-based compensation for the players.. The talks between the two sides were ongoing Sunday, the MLS Players Association says. The Seattle Sounders called attention to the issue by wearing T-shirts before a match that read “Club World Cup Ca$h Grab” on Sunday, including Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
The Seattle Sounders, LAFC and Inter Miami are the only MLS clubs among the 32 teams playing in the Club World Cup, which starts Saturday. Each team will earn $9.55 million as a club for participating in the tournament, with a chance to win additional prize money based on performance.
The Major League Soccer Players Association said Sunday that the league issued a proposal Friday that did not include any additional participation bonuses for the players and offered “below-standard” back-end compensation. The union also said the league asked for unrelated concessions to the collective bargaining agreement.
Currently, there is a provision of the collective bargaining agreement that caps the amount of prize money that can go to players at $1 million. The MLSPA believes the players are entitled to a bigger share of the funds.
“The timing, substance and retaliatory nature of the proposal sends a clear message: MLS does not respect or value players’ efforts with regard to this tournament,” the MLSPA said in statement Sunday. “Although not surprised, the players and the MLSPA are deeply disappointed by this message.”
Major League Soccer issued a statement Sunday to clarify its position.
“As the Seattle Sounders FC, Inter Miami CF, and the Los Angeles Football Club prepare to compete in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup, Major League Soccer has agreed to voluntarily provide additional performance-based compensation to players from the three participating clubs,” the league said. “MLS has proposed an enhanced structure for the Club World Cup to reward both participation and competitive achievement in the tournament. In addition to the guaranteed $1 million per team for qualifying, 20 percent of all prize money earned from the group stage onward would be allocated to players. If an MLS club wins the Club World Cup, its players could collectively receive more than $24 million in performance bonuses.”
The statement went on to say that MLS owners believe that performance-based incentives are appropriate given the expanded format and increased prize pool for the tournament.
“The League values the continued dedication and commitment of its players and looks forward to supporting them as they represent their clubs — and Major League Soccer — on the global stage this summer.”
The talks between the two sides were ongoing.
Last weekend, the Seattle Sounders called attention to the issue by wearing T-shirts before a match that read “Club World Cup Ca$h Grab.” On Sunday, a number of players posted the hashtag #FairShareNow, including Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei and LAFC center back Aaron Long.
“The players remain unified in using their collective voice and demanding a fair share of the rewards earned from their hard work,” the union said.
The Club World Cup features an expanded field of club teams from around the globe and will be played across 11 U.S. cities.
Saudi Arabia’s World Cup hopes hinge on a near-impossible task against Australia
Saudi Arabia needs to beat Australia by five goals to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The last time the Saudis lost by such a margin was in a 6-0 defeat to Brazil in 2013. Iran and Uzbekistan have already qualified from Group A, and South Korea and Jordan from Group B. The top two teams in each of the three groups will advance to the next round of qualifying in October, with the third and fourth teams battling for a place in the knockout stages of the World Cup if they win their group matches. The tournament will take place in 2026 in South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and the United States. The winner of the tournament will be announced on June 25, 2026.
Head coach Herve Renard knows it’s an extremely unlikely outcome for his Saudi team, but he’s urging his players to go all in Tuesday in the last game of the third round of Asian qualifying for next year’s global tournament.
“The door is closed but we have to try to qualify even if it is through the window,” Renard said after his team’s 2-0 win over Bahrain last week kept Saudi. “Everything must go very well for us if we are to qualify; we have to score goals.”
Anything less than a five-goal deficit means Australia — in second spot in Group C — qualifies for a seventh World Cup. The last time the Socceroos lost by such a margin was in successive 6-0 defeats against Brazil and France in 2013. The Australians have scored 14 goals and conceded six through nine qualifiers.
After successive World Cup qualifications through the playoffs, Australia is close to securing a direct route but coach Tony Popovic is taking nothing for granted.
“We need to do a job in Saudi,” Popovic said. “We’re in a great position, but we need to finish it off.”
Popovic has only been in the job since September, stepping in after Graham Arnold resigned after collecting just one point in the group’s first two qualification games.
Australia’s Aziz Behich, left, scores against Japan’s goalkeeper Kosei Tani, right, during their World Cup 2026 group C qualifying soccer match in Perth, Thursday, June 5, 2025. Credit: AP/Trevor Collens
“It’s been a really intense period since I’ve come in but everyone’s embraced what we’re aiming to do,” he said. “And we’re very close now to achieving our goal.”
Asia has been allocated eight places at the 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The top two teams in each of the three groups in this round advance directly. The third- and fourth-place teams in each group go into another round vying for two more places.
Japan was the first to qualify and will top Group C regardless of the outcome between Australia and third-place Saudi Arabia. Iran and Uzbekistan have qualified from Group A, and South Korea and Jordan have qualified from Group B.
If Saudi Arabia fails to win by five, it will join United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia and Iraq in the next stage of qualifying in October. Oman, meanwhile, is fourth in Group B, a point ahead of the Palestinian team in fifth place, with the two teams meeting in Amman on Tuesday.
Australia’s Aziz Behich, left, celebrates after scoring against Japan during their World Cup 2026 group C qualifying soccer match in Perth, Thursday, June 5, 2025. Credit: AP/Trevor Collens
“We still have everything to play for and we know what we have to do and that is to take all three points and continue our journey,” Palestinian coach Ihab Abujazar said.
For China, Kuwait, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan and Bahrain, the run to 2026 is already over.
Field Level Media – Professional sports content solutions | FLM
Denis Bouanga had a goal with two assists and Los Angeles FC earned a 3-1 victory over visiting Sporting Kansas City on Sunday. The game was rescheduled from late May because of a conflict with a Club World Cup qualifier. Next in the schedule is an opportunity to face Chelsea of the English Premier League to open Club World World Cup group play on June 16 at Atlanta. LAFC extended their unbeaten streak in MLS play to nine games (4-0-5).
Eddie Segura and Olivier Giroud also scored goals, while Hugo Lloris made one save for LAFC (7-4-5, 26 points) in a game that was rescheduled from late May because of a conflict with a Club World Cup qualifier.
LAFC extended their unbeaten streak in MLS play to nine games (4-0-5).
Dejean Joveljic scored a first-half goal for Sporting KC (4-9-4, 16 points), who saw a four-game unbeaten streak come to an end. John Pulskamp made four saves for SKC.
LAFC found the focus it needed in their return to MLS play after earning a 2-1 victory over Mexico’s Club America on May 31 to earn the final spot in the Club World Cup. Next in the schedule is an opportunity to face Chelsea of the English Premier League to open Club World Cup group play on June 16 at Atlanta.
Bouanga, LAFC’s best hope at pulling off a major upset, delivered a corner kick into the Sporting KC penalty area during first-half stoppage time where Segura scored on a header.
The goal tied the score 1-1 after Joveljic gave SKC a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute when he found a seam in the LAFC defense and dribbled in from just outside of the penalty area to score past Lloris. It was Joveljic’s 10th goal.
Bouanga put LAFC ahead for good in the 59th minute when he scored from the penalty spot after he was fouled in the box by SKC’s Memo Rodriguez. It was his team-leading eighth goal of the season.
In the third minute of second-half stoppage time, Bouanga dropped the ball off at the penalty spot and Giroud scored his third of the season.
With Club World Cup games ahead against Chelsea, ES Tunis of Tunisia and Flamengo of Brazil, LAFC is not scheduled to return to MLS play until June 28 at the earliest.
–Field Level Media