The Black & Gold kick off the campaign after an offseason of transition by taking on the defending MLS champion Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Joseph Paintsil scores a second-half equalizer to give the Galaxy a 1-1 draw in Panama and an away-goal advantage when the first-round series heads to Carson for the second leg next week.
Galaxy will again be minus Riqui Puig, but appear to be in better shape as they open CONCACAF Champions Cup play Thursday and kick off their MLS season Sunday.
Denis Bouanga scores three goals as LAFC cruises to a 6-1 victory in Honduras in the first leg of the first-round matchup. LAFC will host the second leg next Tuesday night.
The first leg of the Round-of-16 matchup against the 12-time Honduran champs will provide a first look at the Black & Gold's approach under new head coach Marc Dos Santos.
ACFC has missed the playoffs in three of its first four seasons, but is looking to make a move in the standings in Alex Straus' first full season as coach.
San Diego, San Jose, St. Louis, Columbus, Nashville and New York will host group stage and knockout round matches, with the final stage and gold-medal matches at the Rose Bowl.
New head coach Marc Dos Santos and his staff have offered up ideas to tweak how LAFC will play, and it's evident to Thorrington that the players have taken to them.
Fan and community events for the 2026 tournament begin with a five-day festival at the Coliseum and include events in downtown L.A., the Pomona Fairplex, Venice Beach and San Pedro among others.