A place in the Club World Cup continues to elude MLS teams, but this year’s edition will feature at least one face familiar to league audiences.
Sebastian Giovinco starred as his Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal defeated Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds 2-0 on Sunday to win the AFC Champions League final 3-0 on aggregate and earn the crown of Asian champions.
The former Toronto FC Designated Player won man of the match honors in the victory, setting up Salem Al-Dawsari for the game’s crucial opening goal. “Conquering one continent at a time,” boasted the Atomic Ant in a postgame Instagram post.
Giovinco and Al-Hilal will now move on to represent their continent at next month’s 2019 Club World Cup, to be hosted by Qatar.
European champs Liverpool and South American representatives Flamengo are the tournament’s overwhelming favorites, while Liga MX powers CF Monterrey will carry North America’s flag as Concacaf Champions League winners.
