Playing in an empty stadium in Orlando three days before Christmas, Diego Rossi got on the end of a lofted, close-range pass from Mark-Anthony Kaye and softly chipped the keeper to send LAFC into rarified air. In the two decades since the FIFA Club World Cup was founded, no team from Major League Soccer has ever participated, and Rossi's 61st-minute goal against Tigres UANL put the third-year club in position to change that.
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However, as the game progressed, LAFC's energy level dipped and Tigres took advantage, scoring two goals in a 13-minute span to secure Liga MX's 12th straight CONCACAF Champions League title.