LAFC upbeat after tying Flamengo to close out Club World Cup play
Orlando has a large Brazilian community accustomed to cheering on former Orlando City star Kaká and current Orlando Pride star Marta. As a result, Brazilian club Flamengo enjoyed a strong push from the crowd against LAFC.
Flamengo's Wallace Yan came off the bench and scored the game's equalizer in the 86th minute. He received a pass from Jorginho, ran at full speed and scored with a right-footed shot from the penalty spot.
The 20-year-old striker's goal gave Flamengo a draw. The team will face German giants Bayern Munich in the round of 16. That match will be played on Sunday in Miami.
LAFC claimed the lead in the third minute thanks to Denis Bouanga, scorer of the MLS team's lone goal in the tournament.
Flamengo topped Group D with seven points, one more than Chelsea. Esperance of Tunisia (three points) and LAFC (one) were eliminated.
'I couldn't be prouder of the guys,' LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. 'I'm really happy with their effort. ... It's very difficult against a quality side like Flamengo, but I think we did well with the opportunities we had.'
With first place in their group assured, after victories over Esperance (2-0) and Chelsea (3-1), the Rio de Janeiro club took the end of the group stage as a break.
They could have finished it off much earlier, but the goalposts stood in the way a couple of times.
The first came at the 30-minute mark with a fierce shot from Pedro, after a nice combination of passes, which splintered the crossbar of the goal defended by Hugo Lloris.
Uruguay midfielder Giorgian de Arrascaeta also delivered a shot that was off target in the 70th minute just before heading to the bench.
'We had total control of the match. We created countless chances, especially in the first half. We had a few shots hit the post, other chances that didn't end up finishing, but we created them,' said Filipe Luís, Flamengo's coach. 'Unfortunately, we were not very good in front of goal.'
It was the first Club World Cup match played in Orlando that was not affected by bad weather. It was also the best attended match in the city, with 32,933 spectators in attendance at a Camping World stadium with a capacity of 60,219.
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