United States—FIFA has officially announced the match between América of Mexico and Los Angeles FC of the United States to determine a spot in the Club World Cup following León’s disqualification.
The three-time Mexican champion and the Los Angeles team will seek to become the thirty-second and final participant in the world championship, which will be held from June 15 to July 13 in the United States. They have already scheduled everything. Below, ESPN.com reviews everything you need to know about this match, which is generating as much anticipation as it is controversy.
When and where will América and LAFC play?
The match between Club América and Los Angeles FC will be played on Saturday, May 31, at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, home of LAFC. The match, which will award the final ticket to the FIFA-organized tournament, will kick off at 7:30 p.m. local time, which is 11:30 p.m. ARG/PAR/URU, 10:30 p.m. CHI/BOL/VEN, 9:30 p.m. COL/ECU/PER, 8:30 p.m. MX.
Why are América and Los Angeles FC playing this match?
The goal of both teams is clear: to qualify for the Club World Cup, but FIFA’s reasoning for choosing these teams after León’s disqualification is somewhat more arbitrary, albeit reasonable.
The global governing body of football determined this playoff to decide who will play in the Club World Cup, with the following logic: LAFC was runner-up in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League, won by León, and América was the highest-ranked team in the Concacaf ranking for the Club World Cup .
How will the winner be determined?
In the event of a tie after 90 minutes, two 15-minute extra periods will be played, with a 5-minute interval. If the score remains unchanged at the end of extra time, the winner will be determined by a penalty shootout.
The friendly between these teams in 2022 was decided on penalties (Las Águilas prevailed after a 0-0 draw), while at the official level, there is a precedent: LAFC won 3-1 in the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League semifinals, with a double from Mexican Carlos Vela.
Which teams are waiting for América or LAFC in the United States?
The winner of this play-in match will join Group D of the Club World Cup along with Flamengo (Brazil), Chelsea (England), and Espérance (Tunisia).
The Blues will be the opening opponent on Monday, June 1 , in Atlanta, followed by the Africans on Friday, June 20, in Nashville, and Mengao on Tuesday, June 2,4 in Orlando. Those who advance to the round of 16 will face the qualifiers from Group C, which includes Bayern Munich, Benfica, Boca Juniors, and Auckland City.
But mere participation in this tournament also guarantees each team an initial payment of $9.55 million from FIFA for a team from the CONCACAF region, plus a share of the $1 billion in total prize money based on the results of the month-long tournament.
Why did FIFA disqualify León from the Club World Cup?
León, a club founded 81 years ago and located in Guanajuato, where Argentine Eduardo Berizzo currently coaches and Colombian James Rodríguez shines, had earned qualification for the FIFA Club World Cup on the pitch, by being crowned champion of the 2023 Concacaf Champions League, where they eliminated, in order, Tauro, Violette, Tigres and LAFC.
But this year, FIFA ruled to disqualify them for multi-ownership; the owners of the green team are the same as those of Pachuc, the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup champion. “After evaluating all the evidence in the file, the president of the FIFA appeals committee has decided that CF Pachuca and Club León did not meet the criteria regarding multiple club ownership,” FIFA said in a statement.
Initially, the businessmen had agreed to sell León, but that never happened, and the decision to let Tuzos participate was reportedly made by the owners of Grupo Pachuca, despite the appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which ultimately brought down the hammer on León’s dreams. Here’s the chronology of the “León case ” with Alajuelense of Costa Rica as the protagonist.