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LOS ANGELES \u2014 LAFC is headed to the Club World Cup<\/a>. And Club Am\u00e9rica is going home.
Less than a week after falling short in the Liga MX final<\/a>, Am\u00e9rica suffered another blow \u2014 this time on foreign soil. Backed by a large supporters section here at BMO Stadium that at times drowned out the home team\u2019s fans, the Mexican giants pushed LAFC to the brink, but it was the MLS side that delivered in extra time; Denis Bouanga's deflected shot broke a 115th-minute deadlock.
And at the end of 120 minutes in Saturday\u2019s high-stakes play-in game for Le\u00f3n\u2019s vacated Club World Cup slot<\/a>, LAFC edged Am\u00e9rica 2-1, and secured MLS a third place in the expanded global tournament.
For LAFC, it\u2019s redemption against a Mexican side in a high-profile setting after losing to Le\u00f3n in the 2023 CONCACAF Champions Cup final \u2014 which is why, two years later, LAFC ended up in this playoff.
Its first real threat of the game came in the 18th minute after Sebastian Caceres\u2019 reckless studs-up challenge on Mark Delgado earned him a yellow card. After Delgado received treatment, LAFC\u2019s free kick from near midfield found Nathan Ordaz inside the box. Ordaz's left-footed shot went just wide of the post.
After a sleepy first half, the game finally turned in the 63rd minute. Delgado\u2019s rough tackle on Erick Sanchez inside LAFC\u2019s box gifted Am\u00e9rica a penalty. Brian Rodr\u00edguez, who spent four years at LAFC, stepped up and drilled the penalty kick past Hugo Lloris to put Am\u00e9rica ahead 1-0.
Then, in the 89th minute, with Am\u00e9rica having one foot in the Club World Cup\u2019s door, LAFC found the equalizer. Bouanga\u2019s corner kick found Igor Jesus, and the midfielder\u2019s header sailed into the net.
After seven minutes of intense stoppage time with LAFC almost finding the winner, 30 minutes of extra time were added. And in the 115th minute, Bouanga found the winner.
LAFC will be Major League Soccer\u2019s third team in the Club World Cup, and in many ways, it will be the best representative.
First: It has been something of a model MLS club ever since its inception in 2018.
Second: Neither of the league\u2019s other two participants will offer an accurate litmus test.
Inter Miami is exceptional. It has Lionel Messi and a roster unlike anything MLS has ever seen. Its performance won\u2019t tell us much about the league\u2019s progress or lack thereof. It won\u2019t give American club soccer a measuring stick.
Nor will the Seattle Sounders, because they\u2019ll probably get pummeled by PSG and Atl\u00e9tico Madrid \u2014 because almost anybody would get pummeled by PSG right now<\/a>. The Sounders, too, represent plenty positive aspects of MLS, but their Club World Cup group \u2014 PSG, Atl\u00e9ti and reigning South American champion Botafogo \u2014 is regrettably murderous.
LAFC, on the other hand, will slot right into the middle of Group D. It will face Chelsea (England), Flamengo (Brazil) and Esp\u00e9rance Tunis (Tunisia). It could realistically scrape seven points from those three games. It could also flame out with zero.
Its performance, therefore, will tell us more than anything or anybody else about how MLS compares to other leagues on other continents.
LAFC will open on the third day of the tournament, June 16, in Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Chelsea.
It will follow that with a June 20 match in Nashville vs. ES Tunis and a June 24 tilt vs. Flamengo in Orlando.
The 32-team tournament kicks off June 14 in Miami Gardens, Florida, with Inter Miami facing Egypt\u2019s Al Ahly.<\/p>\n