Chelsea will be looking for their second piece of silverware under Enzo Maresca as they embark on the new Club World Cup this summer.
The Blues, who won the Conference League in Wroclaw with victory over Real Betis last month, travel to the United States to take part in the inaugural tournament as one of only two Premier League representatives – the other being Manchester City, Maresca’s former club.
Maresca raised some eyebrows with his squad selection for the tournament, deciding not to include experienced players returning from loan spells at other clubs, including the likes of Joao Felix, Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi and Djordje Petrovic.
But what kind of a threat do their opponents pose?
LAFC benefitted from a disqualification to reach this tournament, with the MLS outfit winning a preliminary play-off against Mexico’s Club America last month to decide who would replace Club Leon in the competition.
Leon, who were originally slated as Chelsea’s first opponents, were kicked out of the competition because they breached FIFA’s dual-ownership regulations, and as such, LAFC, who were founded in 2014, have taken their place.
The American side are first up for Chelsea at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday, June 16.
LA have a couple of familiar faces within their ranks, including former Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and ex-Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud.
Familiar foes: Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud
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French winger Denis Bouanga, however, is their talisman, having scored over 20 goals in MLS for the past two seasons. He has eight in 15 games this year, and scored the winning goal to send LA into the group stage.
LA won the Western Conference in MLS last season, finishing third in the season-ending play-offs that combines the east and west coasts.
Flamengo are likely to be the toughest opponents that Chelsea will face in the group phase, with the Brazilian club currently top of the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A.
The Blues face them second in their calendar, playing the Mengao in Philadelphia on Friday, June 20.
Flamengo won the Copa Libertadores back in 2022, and there will be a former Chelsea man in the hotseat, with left-back Filipe Luis the manager.
Luis made just 15 appearances for the west Londoners in his sole season at the club back in 2014-15, before returning to Atletico Madrid.
Ex-Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Jorginho could feature for the Brazilian side having just left north London on a free transfer, but one former Blue that will not face his old employers is David Luiz, who left the Brazilian side last year.
Returning hero: Jorginho
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Flamengo are the third most successful club in Brazil, and many of their current crop have been capped by the national team.
Those include striker Pedro, left-back Ayrton Lucas, Gerson, and Bruno Henrique.
Fans of European football will recognise Alex Sandro from his days at Juventus, while other notable names in the Flamengo squad include former Manchester United right-back Guillermo Varela, Uruguayan playmaker Giorgian de Arrascaeta, ex-Manchester City full-back Danilo, Mattias Vina, once of Bournemouth, and Michael, a winger who has returned to his homeland after a spell in Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal.
Esperance are four-time African Champions League winners, and qualified thanks to their Confederation of African Football (CAF) ranking.
They have dominated football in Tunisia, winning the top division 34 times, and being labelled ‘The Beast of Africa’ for their might.
Chelsea route to Club World Cup final
Should Chelsea win Group D, they will face the runners-up of Group C in the last 16.
That is most likely to be either Benfica or Boca Juniors, although Bayern Munich and New Zealand’s Auckland City complete that group’s quartet.
If they were to finish runners-up in the group, they would play the Group C winners.
In the last eight and beyond, it is trickier to decipher who might progress, but Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, or Borussia Dortmund could be likely opponents.
