Soccer <\/p>\n
There is officially a path towards a third MLS team qualifying for this summer’s FIFA 2025 Club World Cup<\/a>, with the sport’s governing body announcing Tuesday that LAFC<\/a> will face Club Am\u00e9rica in a playoff match to determine who replaces Club Le\u00f3n in the global tournament.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Should LAFC win, they would join Seattle Sounders FC<\/a> (2022 Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> winner) and Inter Miami CF<\/a> (host nation spot) when the 32-team tournament unfolds from June 14 to July 13 across the United States.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The LAFC-Club Am\u00e9rica date, venue, kickoff time, ticket sales and broadcast info will be communicated at a later date.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Club Le\u00f3n qualified as 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup winners, but FIFA rules state that clubs competing at this summer\u2019s Club World Cup cannot share owners.<\/p>\n Grupo Pachuca owns both Club Le\u00f3n and fellow LIGA MX side CF Pachuca, who qualified as 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup winners and will remain in the tournament.<\/p>\n That decision was brought to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which upheld FIFA’s stance after appeals from CF Pachuca, Club Le\u00f3n and Costa Rican side Alajuelense.<\/p>\n LAFC were selected as 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup runners-up, having lost that year\u2019s final to Club Le\u00f3n (3-1 aggregate).<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Club Am\u00e9rica were chosen as the top-ranked team in the FIFA Club World Cup ranking at the conclusion of the 2024 edition of the Concacaf Champions Cup.<\/p>\n At the Club World Cup, the LAFC-Club Am\u00e9rica playoff winner will replace Club Le\u00f3n in Group D alongside Chelsea (England), Flamengo (Brazil) and ES Tunis (Tunisia).<\/p>\n Club Le\u00f3n’s Group D matches were scheduled as follows, with the first two games respectively held at home venues for Atlanta United<\/a> and Nashville SC<\/a>:<\/p>\n Perennial MLS Cup contenders in the Western Conference, LAFC are led by forward Denis Bouanga<\/a>. The Gabon international has earned two consecutive MLS Best XI nods (2023, ’24) while scoring 20 league goals in back-to-back years. He also won the 2023 MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi.<\/p>\n Additional stars include French national team legends Olivier Giroud<\/a> and Hugo Lloris<\/a>, as well as rising Venezuelan winger David Mart\u00ednez<\/a> and center back Aaron Long<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n LAFC are coached by Steve Cherundolo, who will depart the club<\/a> at season\u2019s end to return to Germany. Cherundolo led the club to an MLS Cup-Supporters\u2019 Shield double in 2022, plus the 2024 US Open Cup title<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n Why this game?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Why LAFC & Club Am\u00e9rica?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
What awaits the winner?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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