Monday action at the Club World Cup in the United States sees Chelsea beginning their campaign against CONCACAF play in winners LAFC, an MLS side. Two of the titans of South American football also begin their journey at the CWC, with Flamengo against Tunisia’s best team Esperance, while Boca Juniors clashes with Portugese giants Benfica in Miami. Here is your look at all the action.
Chelsea vs LAFC
(Monday in Atlanta)
24-25 UEFA Conference League Winners Chelsea are looking to add another trophy to their cabinet, after conquering Europe (and winning the 2022 Club World Cup), Chelsea will face MLS side LAFC, who reached this tournament via a one game play win over Club America, the biggest club in Mexico.
Enzo Maresca and Chelsea will be heavy favorites in front of what should be a pro Chelsea crowd in Atlanta (LAFC is on the other side of the country). Liam Delap, Mamadou Sarr and Dário Essugo are the new signings who will be integrated into the Chelsea squad for this tournament, while some other squad choices were interesting, Kendry Paez from Ecuador is training with the squad but not on the roster, and Christopher Nkunu is here, even though he is up for sale this summer.
LAFC are a squad with some familiar faces from the Premier League, Hugo Lloris formerly of Spurs is in goal, Arsenal’s former player Olivier Giroud is their striker. The MVP player on LAFC is Denis Bouanga, who represents Gabon at the international level and has been an MLS MVP contender since transferring from Ligue 1 three years ago. LAFC will be well drilled and will want to get something from this match, but ultimately, Chelsea’s class should shine and it looks like a comfortable win out of the gate. Prediction: Chelsea 3 LAFC 0
Flamengo vs Esperance de Tunis
(Monday in Philadelphia)
Flamengo are the most supported football club in Brazil, this Club World Cup allows them to connect with their fans in the United States (much of the Brazilian diaspora lives in the northeast of the country), and show the quality of Brazilian football. Esperance de Tunis are one of Africa’s most accomplished sides and have put Tunisian football on the map. Brazilian Yan Sasse is the danger man for Esperance, creating an interesting dynamic in this match.
Esperance will likely be the team defending and trying to hold on though. Flamengo lead the Brazilian league right now, and they score and defend well, Giorgian de Arrascaeta from Uruguay is the focus of the attack, while Jorginho, the former Arsenal man, was recently brought into a squad that features some well known and experienced players from Europe’s top leagues. Flamengo want to compete for this title, and I don’t think they will waste any time getting off to a winning start. Prediction: Flamengo 3 Esperance 0
Boca Juniors vs Benfica
(Monday in Miami)
When you think about the top 20 football clubs in the world, both Benfica and Boca Juniors would make the list, Benfica are Portugal’s most supported club, while Boca and their eternal rivals River Plate, carry the banner of Argentina for this tournament. Boca Juniors enter this tournament in poor form, the club of Maradona doesn’t have as many wonderkids this time around, they were bounced out of the league playoffs in Argentina, and earlier this season, Edison Cavani and friends were eliminated in the Libertadores play in tournament. The side in blue and yellow is on their third manager this season and former Manchester United man Marcos Rojo is the captain.
Ander Herrera (ex Bilbao) also adds experience, Miguel Merentiel from Uruguay is the key forward, Carlos Palacios from Chile (age 24) is their best midfielder.
Benfica finished second in Portugal and exited in the round of 16 of the Champions League, Alvaro Carreras is a transfer target by Real Madrid but remains on the roster, while Angel Di Maria in the twilight of his career is the leader of the club, Vangelis Pavlidis from Greece is the one who will be called on to score goals. The Portugese Eagles are not Europe’s best team, but they are still in better form and have a better squad than Boca Juniors at this point in time, this is an intriguing clash, but the club with 400,000 members and Casa Benfica’s all over the world, including in the United States, should get off to a winning start. Prediction: Benfica 3 Boca Juniors 1
Main Photo Credit: Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images
