LAFC Clinch FIFA Club World Cup Spot With Extra Time Win Over Club America | OneFootball

MLS side LAFC is heading to the FIFA Club World Cup this summer, booking their spot with a 2–1 win in extra time over Liga MX's Club América on Saturday night at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

Denis Bouanga slotted his winning goal past América’s Luis Ángel Malagón in the 115th minute of extra time, making LAFC the last team to qualify for the 32-team tournament, after Liga MX’s Club Léon were eliminated due to FIFA’s club ownership rules.

Léon are owned by Grupo Pachuca, an ownership group which also controls Pachuca, another team in the new-look Club World Cup. LAFC, who lost to Léon in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League final, were put into the match against América to decide which team would take the final spot.

It almost wasn’t to be for the Black and Gold, though.

América opened the scoring in the 64th minute, when Brian Rodríguez smashed a penalty past LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, after Mark Delgado committed a foul at the top of the box in a collision with Erick Sánchez.

While the match had been a relatively tight affair to that point, it opened up in the minutes after, sending the largely split crowd into bedlam at several chances through extra time.

LAFC picked up their attack after conceding, with Olivier Giroud nearly scoring on two chances after coming on in the 74th minute. Yet, it was Igor Jesus who brought the 2022 MLS Cup Champions level in the 89th minute, forcing extra time where Bouanga clinched their spot for the summer’s competition.

With the win, LAFC became the third MLS team in the competition alongside Inter Miami and Seattle Sounders FC, and will join Group D alongside Brazil’s CR Flamengo, Tunisia’s Espérance and the Premier League’s Chelsea, with games in Atlanta, Nashville and Orlando.

The victory also secured them a massive financial boon, earning $9.55 million in prize money for qualifying and will have a chance to draw from the tournament’s nearly $1 billion prize pool, should they advance further.

LAFC will open the tournament on June 16 against Chelsea in Atlanta, looking for an upset against the recently crowned UEFA Conference League Champions.

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