Preview of the TA Club World Cup Group D: Maresca wants to lead the Blues to compete for the championship? Let’s talk about it first

The new Club World Cup will kick off this Sunday, with 32 teams from six continents going to compete. To this end, TheAthletic analyzed the popularity and highlights of each group's qualifying. Author AhmedWalid brings us an analysis of Group D.

In terms of card strength, Group D should be the two strong teams Chelsea and Flamenco competing for the top spot in the group. The other two teams Tunisia hopes to compete with Los Angeles FC and think about whether they can become the dark horse team of this event. Of course, Tunisia hopes to face Los Angeles FC's prospects, and everyone is still not optimistic about it. Los Angeles FC did not win the last place in this event through the playoffs until the 1st of the month. As for Tunisia Hope, it won the seat with the highest ranking in the African Football Federation in four years. It is true that they are the champions of the domestic league and cup in Tunisia, but the gap with other teams is still too big.

Therefore, for Chelsea and Flamenco, the group is their pocket, and the two teams' confrontation on June 20 may determine who will win the top spot in the group.

Schedule at a glance

•June 17: Chelsea vs Los Angeles FC (: 03:00)

•June 17: Flamengo vs Tunisia Hope (: 09:00)

•June 21: Flamengo vs Chelsea (: 02:00)

•June 21: Los Angeles FC vs Tunisia Hope (: 06:00)

•June 25: Los Angeles FC vs Flamenco (: 09:00)

•June 25: Tunisia hopes vs. Chelsea (: 09:00)

Qualifying Popularity: Chelsea

won fourth place in the Premier League in the 24/25 season, qualifying for the Champions League next season, and defeated Real Betis to win the UEFA Champions League championship. It is naturally a popular team in this group to qualify.

Maresca's first season at Chelsea was full of ups and downs, but there are positive signs that the coach has laid a foundation for the team to improve. Spending £30 million to sign Liam Drapp from Yi Town will be an important addition to Chelsea's roster - and Chelsea will give priority to allowing him to participate in the Club World Cup rather than the European Youth Championship. Chelsea's main rival in this group is Flamengo, whose head coach is former Stamford Bridge left-back Philippe Luis, who fired former coach Titt after being eliminated from the Libertadoes quarterfinals last September and appointed Louis to take charge.

At the end of 2024, Flamengo performed quite well under the leadership of Felipe Luis - only lost 1 game in 11 league games and won the Brazilian Cup - which also injected confidence into the new coach.

In the Brazilian League this season, Flamengo is in the lead, and they have advanced to the top 16 of the Liberators Cup and are currently leading the Brazilian League.

Focus matchup

Flamenco vs Chelsea.

In addition to having the top personal abilities in the group, the tactical competition between the two teams will also be very interesting.

Both Flamenco and Chelsea are currently looking to press high and control the game through ball control, but they operate slightly differently. In terms of formation, both Flamenco and Chelsea use a 4-2-3-1 formation, but the Brazilian team will let their fullbacks push up significantly, while the front four occupy the retracting position to cooperate in the middle or wing area.

However, the specific playing style will still vary according to the player's characteristics and the opponent's situation. For example, Everton Saurés prefers to move closer to the sideline when he is a left winger, which means Flamenco's left-back position will be more introverted or deeper in defense.

The latter case means Flamengo will build the offense with three defenders, with right-back Wesley Franza or Guillermo Barrera taking over the right wing.

As for Chelsea, they usually change to a 3-2-4-1 formation or a 3-1-3-3 formation when they are in possession. Despite equally focused on attacking the wing area, Maresca’s side aims to make breakthroughs in one-on-one situations, while Palmer is responsible for moving between the defenses.

How Chelsea defends Flamenco based on the dynamic coordination of the flexibly moving frontcourt foursome will be very worthy of attention. Flamengo’s four frontcourt players can freely cruise in the middle or form a numerical advantage on the wing with the pressing fullback.

Group D's "Star Taste"

Chelsea, which has Palmer and Kessetdo, is undoubtedly eye-catching, but Flamenco's lineup is not inferior in terms of personal abilities.

Chelsea's geographical location, status and financial resources mean that they can attract the best players in the world. The huge investment over the past few seasons has brought players such as Delapp, Palmer, Kesedo, Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernandez, Lavia and Cucurella to Stamford Bridge.

In addition, Chelsea will add Brazil's hottest star to the lineup after the Club World Cup: Estewan of Palmeiras. Estewan will join the franchise with a transfer fee of 34 million euros, and the forward transfer fee can reach 57 million euros.

Flamenco cannot match Chelsea's spending, but they successfully introduced Jorginho, Danilo and Alex Sandro in a sign-free manner. Gerson also returned to the team after playing for one and a half seasons in Marseille, and their amulet striker Pedro has recovered from serious injuries in time and is able to participate in the event.

It is also worth noting that Flamenco's attacking midfielder De Alascaeta leads the scorer list (9 goals) and assists list (4 times) in the Brazil League this season. De Alascaeta has won 15 championship trophys with Flamengo, the main link for the team's offense.

Players expected to emerge: Wesley

At present, Flamenco's right-back Wesley has attracted the attention of many Premier League teams. If he lands in the European arena soon, it would not be surprising. The 21-year-old has performed well since joining the Flamenco first team in 2023 and was selected for the 2024 Brazil League One Team of the Year.

Wesley is a full-back with a strong attack consciousness and performs well in the wing area. His cross is an important weapon for Flamengo's offense, and his clever off-ball run also makes him extremely threatening in the third section of the offensive.

In addition, Wesley has the ability to dribble in a small space, which makes it difficult for him to be stolen. On the defensive end, the right-back’s physical fitness was a key part of his game, which allowed him to return to the defense and win the confrontation.

However, his defensive style of being on the snatch is a double-edged sword because he is prone to snatching too early and is easily at a disadvantage in one-on-one situations. He still has room for improvement, especially on defense, but the potential that Wesley has makes it a wise signing for most teams in the world.

Stories worth watching: How Los Angeles FC performs

Mexico's Leon was excluded due to the multi-team ownership regulations of the Club World Cup (the reason behind the same sports group as Pachuca, another Mexican Super League team, is controlled by the same sports group), which provides opportunities for Los Angeles FC and Mexico America.

FIFA's solution is to allow the runner-up of the 2023 Central and North America and the Caribbean Champions League Los Angeles FC to play a playoff with Mexico America, the highest-ranking team of the Central and North America Football Federation, which has not yet been qualified. In the end, Los Angeles FC defeated the Mexican team 2-1 and qualified for the Club World Cup - the winning goal was scored by forward Dennis Buenga in overtime.

Los Angeles FC is not in the best form this season, losing to International Miami in the quarterfinals of the Central and North American Champions League. But the Club World Cup may be their chance to rekindle its hopes for the season and give its best farewell gift to head coach Steve Cellendolo, who is about to leave at the end of the year.

Things you may not know...

Tunisian hopes Yusef Berari's career is like a roller coaster, enough to make a Netflix series.

The Algerian winger made his mark in the 2012/2013 season and became an African football star. At that time, he led the Hope team to the semi-finals of the African Champions League and finished second in the Tunisian domestic league. The story took a turn for the following season, with the team suspending Berari for discipline reasons. However, Beralie claimed that it was because she refused to renew her contract.

In June 2014, Berari returned to Algeria to join the Algerian USM and helped them reach the African Champions League final. But in a drug test after the game, Beraricocaine tested positive and was suspended by the African Football Federation for four years.

Berali appealed to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the suspension was eventually shortened to two years.

After spending five months of unsuccessful days at Anger in 2017, Berari returned to Tunisia Hope and won consecutive domestic and African Champions League titles over the next two years. At that time, Berari was one of the best players in Africa and was re-elected to the Algerian national team.

He did not stop there. At the 2019 African Cup of Nations, Berari was the best player, even though he did not receive an official award. Berari's performance is crucial to Algeria's final victory.

Fast forward to 2025, Berari won the domestic double championship (league and cup) with Tunisia Hope this season, and contributed 18 goals and 16 assists in various competitions.