Chelsea will be confronted with Lafc in the Club World Cup later this month after the MLS side has booked their place at the newly expanded competition in a dramatic way on Saturday evening.
The blues already knew that they were placed in Group D next to the Brazilian outfit Flamengo and Tunisian team Esperance Sportive de Tunis, and they originally played the club Leon van Mexico.
Club Leon, however, was excluded earlier this year because of the rules with several ownership of the tournament, which means that another club had the opportunity to qualify in their place.
It all came down to a play-off between Lafc and Club America on Saturday, and it seemed that the latter would book their place at the Club World Cup when they took the lead in the 64th minute through a penalty from Brian Rodriguez.
However, Lafc hit back in the 89th minute when Igor Jesus equalized to bring the game to extra time, and Denis Bouanga completed the comeback by scoring the winning goal in the 115th minute.
Responding to the victory, Bouanga said Lafc: 'It's just one of the best moments of my career. I love this team and I love this game. '
He added: 'It is a great achievement and the chance of your life. It really opens some doors for our club. '
Lafc head coach Steve Cherundolo, who would leave the club at the end of the season, was full of praise for his team when he said: “It is a sort of highlight of three and a half years of hard work and dedication that is currently exploding at that time.”
Lafc is the first opponents of Chelsea at the tournament in the US, with the two parties planned to play each other on June 16.
Four days later, the men of Enzo Maresca will compete against Flamengo before they end their group campaign by being confronted with Esperance Sportive de Tunis on 25 June.
The top two teams of the group are eligible for the knockout phases of the competition.
Chelsea will add more silverware to their collection after winning the Conference League earlier this week after a 4-1 win over Real Betis in the final.
They won the Club World Cup in 2022 after the past in the Champions League the previous year.
This year's tournament, however, promises to be a more difficult challenge by 32 teams that are now competing, including Real Madrid, Manchester City and Champions League winners PSG.