Chelsea vs Los Angeles FC, Sunrise and Sunset in Atlanta

ATLANTA, SUNDAY — The match between Chelsea and Los Angeles FC (LAFC) on Tuesday (17/6/2025) at 02:00 WIB, at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, serves as a proving ground for players who are in the early stages of their careers against former stars who are in the twilight of their professional careers. Chelsea is populated by potential future stars, while LAFC relies on senior players with World Cup champion titles.

"Si Biru," the nickname for Chelsea, is the team with the youngest average squad in the 2025 Club World Cup. Enzo Maresca has a roster of players with an average age of only 23.1 years.

The main stars that represent Chelsea are players under the age of 25. They are Moises Caicedo (23 years old), Cole Palmer (23), Enzo Fernandez (24), Levi Colwill (22), Noni Madueke (23), and Nicolas Jackson (23).

With a squad composed of relatively inexperienced players competing at the highest level, Chelsea has proven capable of reestablishing itself as one of the best teams in England. They achieved their goal of breaking into the Champions League zone in the final standings of the English Premier League 2024-2025.

Their brilliant season was bolstered by the achievement of the UEFA Conference League trophy. This title has fostered confidence and self-assurance among the young talents from West London to enhance their performance in the United States.

Maresca acknowledged that his team did not have sufficient preparation time for the Club World Cup. He further stated that the players also did not have an ideal rest period as some of his team members joined their national teams for international matches in early June.

"The good thing is that we finished in the English League and the Conference League according to our wishes, so we arrive (at the Club World Cup) with a good feeling and can fully focus on facing the competition," said Maresca, the Italian tactician, as reported by the club's website.

The positive collective performance, winning eight out of nine final games in the 2024-2025 competition campaign, according to Maresca, is attributed to the significant development of the players individually. He stated that the young players of Si Biru are now at a level of play that can compete with the best teams currently.

"The players have an excellent mentality. They never experience a decline in focus, allowing us to end the season very well. I also feel that I have significantly developed as their manager," said Maresca.

Referring to the current performance and quality of the squad, Chelsea should not have difficulty overcoming LAFC in the first match of the 2025 Club World Cup. In addition to LAFC, Chelsea has the opportunity to excel over the other two teams in Group D, namely Flamengo (Brazil) and Esperance (Tunisia).

The Chelsea squad is one of the teams with a market value exceeding 1 billion euros. Only Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Paris Saint-Germain can rival the market value of the Blue team's lineup competing in the US this summer.

Flamengo has a squad with a total market value of approximately 221 million euros (Rp 4.14 trillion). Meanwhile, Los Angeles and Esperance have squads valued at less than 50 million euros.

With the disparity in squad quality compared to the other three competitors in Group D, it is no wonder that Opta gives Chelsea a 93.4 percent probability of advancing to the last 16.

In addition, the chances of Si Biru winning are at 8.4 percent. This makes Chelsea the sixth favorite to lift the trophy of the 2025 Club World Cup, which resembles the Voyager Golden Record.

Meanwhile, LAFC, who qualified through the playoffs after defeating Mexican representative Club America 2-1 on June 1, relies on veteran players who are over 35 years old. They are Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud, who are both 38 years old.

Although they are aging, both players possess experience that cannot be underestimated at the world tournament level. Lloris and Giroud have enriched their careers with the championship title of the 2018 World Cup with the French national team.

That status serves as a foundation for the duo of players to prove that they are not finished, even though they have entered their second season away from the highest level of competition in Europe.

Denis Bouanga, the left winger of LAFC, acknowledged the significant role of Lloris and Giroud in the team's preparation for the Club World Cup. According to Bouanga, who grew up in Le Mans, France, his two teammates have fostered a spirit and enthusiasm to compete in the world-class tournament.

"For them, the Club World Cup is akin to the World Cup. It all depends on us to deliver our best performance," he stated as reported by the FIFA website.

Furthermore, Bouanga acknowledged that the match against Chelsea will be the toughest challenge to start the tournament. Nevertheless, LAFC is undeterred in facing Chelsea.

"We are excited to face them to understand our comparison and level. Our mindset is to win. Chelsea has a very big reputation, and I believe we at LAFC are very eager to challenge them," said Bouanga, who has contributed 12 goals for LAFC in the 2025 season, consisting of eight goals and four assists.