LA Galaxy to play LAFC, Houston Dynamo, Portland Timbers in restart tournament

The LA Galaxy, and the world, know who they’ll be playing in the group stage in the MLS restart tournament in Orlando, and would you believe it, there’s an El Trafico on tap.

Yes, the Galaxy were drawn in Group F to play Los Angeles rivals LAFC, as well as the Houston Dynamo and Portland Timbers in the group stage. The tournament kicks off July 8 in Orlando and will be closed to the public, but available to watch on TV.

This will be the first El Trafico rivalry match to be played on neutral ground, so it will be a new experience. Can the Galaxy maintain their historic supremacy in the rivalry? To be determined.

Oddly, the Galaxy already played the Dynamo this season, in one of their only two games of the 2020 regular season before the coronavirus shutdown, the teams playing a 1-1 draw in Houston. They will be seen as the longshots of the group, but given everyone has been on ice for three-plus months, it’s a crapshoot, really.

And the Galaxy have had some spirited matches against the Timbers the past couple years. Yes, Zlatan Ibrahimovic isn’t on the field to stoke the rivalry embers against LAFC and the Timbers anymore, but don’t be shocked to see a spiky match between LA and Portland.

So there you have it. We’ll have details out as they become available about the schedule, which should drop before long. And now we can get ready for soccer to return in the “MLS is Back Tournament” from Orlando next month.

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