Enzo Maresca prepares to guide "Chelsea" into their third Club World Cup campaign as they face "Los Angeles FC" in a Group D opener on Monday. The London club enters the tournament riding high after winning eight of their last nine matches in the 2024/25 season.
"Reaching this tournament as Conference League champions completes our collection of UEFA trophies, but we're hungry for more," the Italian manager might say ahead of the historic match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
This clash marks the first-ever meeting between the Conference League winners and the current US Cup holders. "Chelsea" secured their place in the tournament back in 2021 after their Champions League triumph, while the Californians got their ticket through an unexpected route. "Los Angeles" only qualified after Mexican side Leon was disqualified due to multi-club ownership violations, then defeated "America" 2-1 in overtime during the play-in match.
Interestingly, "Chelsea" made history by becoming the first club to win all four major UEFA competitions – Champions League, Europa League, Super Cup, and Conference League. Their emphatic 4-1 victory over "Betis" in the Conference League final capped off Maresca's impressive debut season, which also saw them return to Champions League qualification spots.
Steven Cherundolo's "Los Angeles" squad arrives in fine form themselves. The American side is currently unbeaten in 10 matches and has scored at least two goals in each of their recent outings. Despite sitting sixth in the MLS Western Conference, the California outfit has prioritized this international competition.
By the way, Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud – both World Cup winners with France – provide "Los Angeles" with valuable big-game experience that could trouble the English giants. The expected lineups show Sanchez in goal for "Chelsea" with Palmer leading the attack, while Lloris will captain the Americans with Giroud as their main scoring threat.
To advance from Group D, both teams will also need to navigate matches against Brazilian powerhouse "Flamengo" and Tunisian champions "Esperance" in the coming days. Can the Americans pull off a major upset in their tournament debut, or will "Chelsea" take a commanding first step toward repeating their 2021 Club World Cup triumph?
The match kicks off at 10:00 PM local time with Venezuelan referee Jesus Valenzuela in charge.
