Chelsea vs LAFC, Club World Cup
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Our guide to all 32 clubs participating at the FIFA Club World Cup continues.You can check out the full list so far here.Today we're looking at...LAFC.How did they qualify for the Club World Cup?LAFC
The 38-year-old goalkeeper says the US-based club will struggle to compete with the Premier League clubs, or even others in the group.
Boca Juniors enter this match high on confidence after a solid Apertura campaign, while Benfica are still licking their wounds after narrowly missing out on the Portuguese title.
Enzo Maresca has offered a strong hint over his selection plans for Chelsea at the Club World Cup. Chelsea open their Club World Cup on Monday in Atlanta at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, looking to kick their campaign off with a victory.
Maresca isn't ruling out a "very difficult" Club World Cup opener against LAFC: "I'm never confident, I don't know if it's something good or something bad, but I think because of the technology today, any game can be difficult. They can watch many games about us, we can watch many games about them, so every game becomes very complicated."
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LAFC booked passage to the summer showcase after a one-off clash with Liga MX giants Club América in the wake of Club León being removed from the competition. Goals from Igor Jesus and an extra-time winner through star forward Denis Bouanga cancelled out a Brian Rodríguez second half penalty to send the SoCal side into the group stage.
Chelsea begin their FIFA Club World Cup journey on Monday against Major League Soccer's LAFC. Enzo Maresca's side enjoyed a positive season winning the UEFA Conference League for the first time while finishing in the Premier League top four.