Chelsea's World Club Cup group stage opponents in focus
Here, the PA news agency looks at the Londoners' group stage opponents and beyond.
With his first-half assist against Sporting Kansas City, @LAFC's Denis Bouanga became the second player in club history to reach 70 career goal contributions, joining Carlos Vela (137). pic.twitter.com/wPexYOOdoF
— MLS Communications (@MLS_PR) June 9, 2025
The MLS side were a late addition to the tournament and were nearly not involved at all, with an 89th-minute equaliser from Brazilian midfielder Igor Jesus salvaging their preliminary play-off against Club America of Mexico last month before French winger Denis Bouanga won it towards the end of extra time.
The play-off came about after Club Leon, also from Mexico, were disqualified from the tournament over FIFA's rules on dual ownership.
LAFC, who are first up for Chelsea in Atlanta on June 16, are relatively new to MLS having been founded in 2014. They finished top of the Western Conference last season and qualified for the play-offs where they ultimately finished third, with their only national title coming in 2022.
Former Tottenham goalkeeper and France's World Cup-winning captain Hugo Lloris and ex-Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud are standout names, while Odin Holm, on loan from Celtic, will also be familiar. Coach Steve Cherundolo played more than 300 Bundesliga matches for Hannover.
See you in two weeks, @LAFC 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/DP036olMc2
— Flamengo (@Flamengo_en) June 10, 2025
A clash with Brazilian giants Flamengo follows in Philadelphia, with the Rio de Janeiro state champions and current leaders of the national championship likely to be the strongest opposition faced by Maresca's side in the group stage. They qualified as Copa Libertadores winners in 2022.
A familiar face awaits in the dugout with former Chelsea full-back Felipe Luis leading the team as head coach, though the former Brazil international made only 15 Premier League appearances in his single season at Stamford Bridge in 2014/15.
Jorginho played more recently for the club, leaving for Arsenal in 2023 and moving to Flamengo earlier this month, while defender David Luiz – a Champions League winner with the Blues in 2012 – departed only last summer.
Flamengo lifted the Intercontinental Cup back in 1981 after a 3-0 win over Bob Paisley's Liverpool in Tokyo, and with seven titles they are the joint-third most successful club in Brazilian football.
𝓢𝓮𝓮 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓘𝓷 𝓐𝓶𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓬𝓪. ! 🇧🇪😍#TakeItToTheWorld #FIFACWC#ترجي_دولة#للعالمية_يا_مكشخين pic.twitter.com/aeufjoRvnM
— Espérance Sportive De Tunis (@ESTunis1919) June 4, 2025
Tunisian club Esperance qualified by virtue of their Confederation of African Football (CAF) ranking, having last won the African Champions League in 2019 – their fourth title.
The squad is a mixture of domestic players and recruits from further afield including Brazil, Sweden and Belgium.
Captain Yassine Meriah has 85 caps for Tunisia and the defender played against England at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and has played in the Champions League for Olympiacos.
The club were given the nickname 'The Beast of Africa' in 1994 to reflect their dominance of football both domestically, where they have been champions 34 times, and on the continent.
7️⃣ DAYS TO GO UNTIL OUR FIRST #FIFACWC MATCH!🆚 Al Hilal 📺 Watch every FIFA Club World Cup 2025 game LIVE, on @DaznFutbol!#TakeItToTheWorld pic.twitter.com/ZsEL3Mb268
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) June 11, 2025
Should Chelsea progress as group winners it will mean a last-16 meeting with the side that finishes runner-up in Group C, likely to be Benfica or Argentina's Boca Juniors.
Bayern Munich are another possible opponent, as are New Zealand club Auckland City.
Thereafter things become less easy to predict, but topping the group could well set them up for a quarter-final against either Real Madrid, Paris St Germain or Borussia Dortmund.
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