With Wednesday’s 6-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps, LAFC improved its chances of earning a spot in the MLS Extended Playoffs as the league begins the 61/2 week final sprint until the end of the regular season
But he might have to enjoy this trip without two of his best players. Forwards Diego Rossi, the league’s top scorer, and Brian Rodríguez are on Uruguay’s preliminary list of 26 for two qualifiers for the World Cup next month, which means they could miss five of LAFC’s last eight games
And LAFC isn’t alone A dozen MLS teams – including Galaxy, which could lose top scorer Cristian Pavón (Argentina) and defenseman Rolf Feltscher (Venezuela) – could be shorthanded for most what’s left of the regular season
FIFA rules require clubs to release players in their national teams during international competition windows, which is a big part of the timing of most World Premier League leagues around FIFA breaks. does not and with the opening of the South American 10-team qualifying tournament with two games between October 8-13, the called-up players will miss at least three league games
But due to concerns over COVID-19, the league quietly decided it would force returning players from overseas to self-quarantine for 10 days This will sideline players for two more games, maybe more
« In discussions with our medical experts and infectious disease advisers, it was determined that players who leave to participate in matches for their national teams should be quarantined for 10 days upon their return to their club MLS, « Dan Courtemanche, the league’s executive vice president responsible for communications, said in a statement
The league declined to comment beyond the statement and Galaxy general manager Dennis te Kloese and John Thorrington, general manager and interim chairman of LAFC, also declined to comment for the public One of the reasons for the silence, said an MLS official familiar with the league’s discussions, is the hope that qualifying will be voided by COVID-19
Otherwise, the effect could be devastating on the run to the playoffs In addition to Rossi – who scored his 11th goal on Wednesday in MLS – and Rodríguez, LAFC could be without Ecuadorians José Cifuentes and Diego Palacios Ecuador are one of six teams that have not released their qualifying list, but both players have been called up for Ecuador’s last international game
MLS is already enforcing a quarantine for newly arrived players, which is why Galaxy remain without winger Yony González for more than a week after leaving Brazil League general managers recently agreed to extend this protocol for players returning from international matches
Neil Buethe, communications officer for US Football, said that the challenges that MLS clubs could create was one of the many factors to consider in the federation’s decision not to schedule its own match in FIFA’s October window
These challenges could extend beyond October as another South American qualifying round is scheduled for November 12-17, before the MLS Cup playoffs begin on November 20
LAFC (5-5-3) have yet to qualify for these players, but odds improved on Wednesday when two goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips gave him a 4-0 lead in the opening 14 minutes of an easy victory over Vancouver
This made LAFC the fastest four-goal team in MLS history, while Wright-Phillips’ two scores saw them overtake LAFC assistant coach Ante Razov and go through sixth in the league’s all-time standings with 115 goals
Los Angeles FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, MLS, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Dejan Jaković
World news – USA – LAFC could miss top players in crucial race MLS playoffs
