Atlético Nacional qualified to the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup as the champion of the 2016 Copa Libertadores, representing South America in the competition. The team began its participation in the semifinals, facing Japanese team Kashima Antlers, who defeated Nacional 3–0. The first goal of the match, a penalty scored by Shoma Doi, became the first use of video replay for awarding a penalty in a FIFA competition. Nacional got the third place after beating Mexican Club América, who lost against Real Madrid in the Semifinals. The teams got a 2–2 draw, so they had to determine the winner on penalties, where Nacional got a 4–3 victory.