Olivier Giroud has won the World Cup and UEFA Champions League during his decorated career, yet even Los Angeles FC's famed French striker is impressed by the extraordinary nature of the stakes when his team hosts Club América on Saturday night.
The winner of this one-game play-in match gets the final spot in the FIFA Club World Cup and the remarkable chance for a North American team to face world soccer powers in the biggest-ever edition of this summer competition.
"To get the opportunity to play that kind of competition is a big chance for the boys," Giroud said. "We need to grab the opportunity."
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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
