$10 million game: LAFC, Club América vie for FIFA Club World Cup spot | OneFootball

By Justin Ruderman

In the heart of downtown Los Angeles – halfway between the historic Hollywood hills and hip-hop hometowns of Compton and Inglewood – ‘getting the bag’ has increasingly become a marker of international stardom and success.

On Saturday night, LAFC will have an unprecedented opportunity to do exactly that in a single-match playoff against Mexican powerhouse Club América for qualification to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup (10:30 pm ET | DAZN.com, TBS, UniMás, TUDN). And since Concacaf teams are guaranteed $9.55 million for participating in the tournament that's held June 14 to July 13 across the United States, all that cash is up for grabs as well.

It’s up to the Black & Gold to get the bag.

"It's a great opportunity," said LAFC forward Denis Bouanga. "As I said before, it's even better than an MLS [Cup] final. It's gonna open doors. We play against a good team, so it's exciting."

Huge opportunity

The winner of Saturday’s playoff will enter Group D alongside Chelsea (England), Flamengo (Brazil) and ES Tunis (Tunisia), replacing Club León after they were disqualified from the tournament due to FIFA’s multi-club ownership rules. Should LAFC win, they'd join Seattle Sounders FC (2022 Concacaf Champions Cup winner) and Inter Miami CF (host nation spot) as the third MLS representative competing for up to nearly $100 million as part of the tournament’s unprecedented $1 billion prize pool.

“When I first heard that this could be a possibility, the first thing that crossed my mind was what an opportunity it would be for us as players and for the club,” said LAFC captain Aaron Long.

“It's so hard to play teams outside of your region as a club and as a player. You have to qualify for Champions League and you can only go so far outside your region – we're still in North America, Central America a little bit. So to be able to play teams from overseas and other countries, it's a huge opportunity to show ourselves, and to showcase what this club has been made for and built on. It's massive.”

Clash of giants

In Spanish, they’re called gigantes, and Club América are the biggest of them all. Despite falling to Toluca in the LIGA MX Clausura final less than a week ago, Las Águilas boast by far the most expansive trophy cabinet in the region, with 36 major pieces of silverware, including 14 league titles and seven CCC trophies. If anyone deserves this CWC playoff opportunity, América would reasonably believe it's them.

But north of the border, LAFC have been among the most dominant MLS teams since their 2018 expansion season. In that time, they’ve lifted four major trophies – two Supporters’ Shields, one MLS Cup and one US Open Cup – while making consistent, deep tournament runs year in, year out. If anyone would fail to be intimidated by Club América, it's the Black & Gold.

“I think the stakes are probably as high as it can get,” said Long. “Two titans of North America battling it out. I'm sure BMO will be like an arena – a different level,
I'll just put it that way. I think the fans from both sides are gonna be going all in, giving 100%. And I mean, if you're a fan, this is the game that you want to go and see, right? This is the game you want to go and watch. So it's going to be incredible.”

As is often the case with two massive clubs, competition is not their only connection. They negotiate, too. In fact, the most expensive signing in LAFC history will not be wearing black and gold on Saturday night, but instead the blue and yellow of América.

Former LAFC Young DP Brian Rodríguez had an up-and-down tenure in Los Angeles before his reported $6 million move to Mexico in August 2022, but his talent was never in question. Rayito appeared in 55 regular-season matches for LAFC (46 starts), tallying 8g/12a, while being named to the prestigious MLS 22 Under 22 lists in both 2019 and 2020. Now his former team will aim to use anything they remember about their former teammate to shut him down on his return to BMO Stadium.

"Obviously super happy for him. He's doing really well in América and has been a huge piece for them. We miss him here. We loved having him here," said defender Ryan Hollingshead.

"He's got just so much talent – such a good footballer, really good dribbler, so good on the ball. It'll be fun to see him again and in high stakes like this... but we know if he's on the field, you've got to be careful and you've got to have an eye on him at all times."

LAFC vs. Club América: Who has the FIFA Club World Cup playoff edge?

Home field ‘advantage’

FIFA needed a stadium to host this unique match, which was easier said than done on short notice. Prioritizing markets where the Club World Cup would be played, FIFA encountered numerous scheduling conflicts when searching for a venue, in addition to being unable to commit themselves until the final Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling in early May. The upshot was BMO Stadium, LAFC’s home ground, became the best option.

“This is a kind of match you need to play at 110%. To get the opportunity to play that kind of competition is a big chance for the boys,” said striker Olivier Giroud.

“I never played it. Basically, when we won the [UEFA] Champions League with Chelsea, I left to [AC] Milan the year after, so it could be nice to meet Chelsea again, but obviously it will be the massive game at the weekend against América. We play home, we need to start the game really strong, with good rhythm, strong intensity, and to play with our qualities. I'm pretty sure the boys understand the importance of the game for the club and for myself, and we need to grab this opportunity to play this competition.”

Regardless of the name on the outside of the stadium, inside, everything will be equal. Each team received equal ticket allocations with the same accessibility, and with many América fans already living in Los Angeles, the intended neutrality is likely to be reflected in the stands despite any perceived home-field advantage.

“Playing this game at home will be really important for us, playing in front of fans, 3252,” said goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. “I know there will be a lot of Mexican fans in the club, so it will be probably 50/50. But at the same time, it will be like a final. We know that we need our fans behind us like they [are] used to be to push us, to help us in a difficult moment, and I think all together we can make it.”

Notably, BMO Stadium isn’t new to Club América either. This past February, Las Águilas made the trip north for a preseason friendly against LAFC, falling 2-1 courtesy of goals from Bouanga and Nathan Ordaz.

“I think it's funny that we did play them in preseason this year, right?” Long said. “It's an interesting kind of caveat, so I guess we have a little bit of understanding of each other. And I believe they played their starters for the first half of that game, so we got a little taste of what they're like and what they're made of and how they play. I think they got a little taste of what we're playing like and what BMO is going to be. And I think all that's just gonna be amplified, kind of turned up to 100 on the day.”

That can swing both ways. América are familiar with the stadium, but LAFC have confidence from beating Las Águilas mere months ago, albeit with little at stake.

“It's gonna be amazing," said Hollingshead. "This is why we play football, right? To play against opponents like this, to play in environments like this, to play in a stadium like BMO will be tomorrow. I know the 3252 and our fans are gonna show up. I know Club América fans are gonna show up, and let's do it. Let's have a battle.”

Finals & farewells

In what will be his final season with the club, head coach Steve Cherundolo has a golden opportunity to get one last monkey off his back before returning to Germany.

Since his incredible 2022 debut season, in which he became the only first-year head coach to win the Supporters’ Shield-MLS Cup double, finals have proven to be Cherundolo’s biggest kryptonite. The following season, LAFC lost three finals in just over six months, including the CCC final against Club León (which earned their playoff spot), Campeones Cup against Tigres UANL and MLS Cup against the Columbus Crew.

Fans began to call it a finals curse, and that sentiment grew as Columbus downed LAFC again in the 2024 Leagues Cup title tilt. Exactly a month later, the curse was finally broken as the Black & Gold lifted the 2024 US Open Cup, but some supporters still carry concerns.

"There's not very many of us left that played in that final against León," Hollingshead said. "We still obviously have some major regrets in that game, but this, in a sense, is a way to redeem that and get us that birth into the Club World Cup."

In other words, Cherundolo has the chance to put any notion of a finals curse to bed if he can lead his team to the most lucrative win in club history on Saturday night.

While Cherundolo could still theoretically win three other trophies this season, it's difficult to imagine a bigger legacy he could leave during his final year than piloting LAFC to their first-ever Club World Cup, and banking the club nearly $10 million in the process.

“This may come or not come as a surprise to you, but my personal legacy is not really important," Cherundolo said. "This is a great opportunity for LAFC and our organization, but also for the MLS, and therein lies the challenge that we have…

"We see this as a massive opportunity. Personally, I get joy out of seeing our team functioning at the highest level possible. I feel very good about our preparation for this match and I feel good about tomorrow’s match.”

LAFC can make massive statement in Club World Cup playoff