00:00LAFC, America Clash in Massive Club World Cup Play-In Match
00:04Olivier Giroud has won the World Cup and UEFA Champions League during his decorated career.
00:11Yet even Los Angeles FC's famed French striker is impressed by the extraordinary nature of the stakes
00:16when his team hosts Club America on Saturday night.
00:20The winner of this one-game play-in match gets the final spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.
00:25And the remarkable chance for a North American team to face world soccer powers in the biggest-ever edition of this summer competition.
00:33To get the opportunity to play that kind of competition is a big chance for the boys, Giroud said.
00:39We need to grab the opportunity.
00:42What's more, the winning team at BMO Stadium will be guaranteed at least $9.55 million for its Club World Cup berth,
00:49along with a shot at nearly $100 million from the tournament's biggest-ever prize pool of nearly $1 billion, even the setting, is tantalizing.
00:59Thanks to equal-ticket distribution, LAFC's sold-out arena will be packed with raucous supporters of both the home team and the biggest professional club in Mexico.
01:08Los Angeles' passion for all forms of Mexican soccer is famously rabid, and America has legions of Southern California fans.
01:15No wonder the players and coaches involved are expecting a career-defining experience in this big-money match.
01:22It's massive.
01:23LAFC center-back Aaron Long said,
01:25I think the stakes are probably as high as it can get.
01:28Two titans of North America battling it out.
01:31I'm sure BMO will be on a different level.
01:34I'm sure fans from both sides are going to be going all-in, giving, 100%.
01:38If you're a fan, these are the games you want to go and see.
01:42It's going to be incredible.
01:44The Club World Cup includes 32 teams for the first time,
01:47and it is being held across the U.S. one year before the FIFA World Cup returns to North America.
01:52Two Major League Soccer clubs and two Liga MX clubs have already qualified for the event,
01:57and LAFC or America will join them based on the results of this one match.
02:02Giroud has done just about everything in world soccer, except this.
02:05Chelsea won the Champions League with Giroud in 2021 to earn a Club World Cup spot,
02:11but Giroud left for AC Milan before it happened.
02:14This is the kind of match you need to play at 110%, Giroud said.
02:18I've never played in it.
02:20It could be nice, to meet Chelsea again, but obviously it will be a massive game, first.
02:26Indeed, the winner of the play-in match will face Chelsea, Brazil's Flamengo, and Tunisia's ES Tunis in group play.
02:32LAFC and America got this opportunity after FIFA disqualified.
02:37Lyon because of its rules against participation by multiple clubs owned by the same entity.
02:42Lyon and fellow Liga MX qualifier Pachuca are owned by the same group.
02:46And Lyon lost its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after attempting to change its ownership structure.
02:52The decision was only finalized 3-1-2 weeks ago,
02:55necessitating this quick one-game playoff for the final spot.
02:59The matchup will also serve as an informal referendum
03:02on the usually friendly competition between MLS and Liga MX
03:06for unofficial recognition as North America's top professional league.
03:10LAFC and America already met in a preseason friendly in Los Angeles this year,
03:14but the play-in is a different animal.
03:16I believe this game will be prepared like a final,
03:19said LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Loris, another World Cup champion.
03:23It's going to be interesting to face one of the best Mexican clubs,
03:26and it's going to be tough, challenging, but it's also what you play football for,
03:31Loris added.
03:32When I signed for LAFC, I didn't expect to have this type of opportunity.
03:36I know that in life and in football, when you have this kind of opportunity,
03:40you have to do everything to take it.
03:42LAFC has enjoyed steady success since its MLS debut in 2018,
03:47winning the MLS Cup Playoff Championship in 2022
03:50and earning two supporters' shields for the best regular season record.
03:54LAFC is unbeaten in eight matches since a CONCACAF Champions,
03:58league qualifier loss to club World Cup invitee Inter Miami last April.
04:03America is generally considered both the most popular
04:05and the most decorated club in Mexico,
04:07and Los Angeles have been on top of Liga MX for much of the previous three seasons.
04:13Their Brazilian coach, Andre Jardin,
04:15attracted international praise while his team won three straight titles
04:18before losing the Closura final to Toluca last Sunday night,
04:21falling just short of becoming only the second team in Mexico's history
04:24to win four consecutive championships.
Comments