One game. Ninety minutes (plus extra time). Ten million dollars.
Those were the stakes Saturday evening as Club America took on Los Angeles FC in a one-off play-in game to determine which team would qualify for this summer’s Club World Cup.
It was LAFC who came out on top by two goals to one after 120 minutes of tense, tightly controlled play. Club America broke through first, netting a penalty in the 64th minute, but LAFC tied the game at 1-1 in the 89th to take the match to extra time and flip momentum in LAFC’s favor.
Denis Bouanga, LAFC’s mercurial Gabonese talisman, found the winner in the 114th minute. His strike earned LAFC the win, the $10M and the coveted spot in the tournament, where it will represent the United States alongside Inter Miami and the Seattle Sounders.
