February 11 – A decade after losing the 2012 competition, Chelsea will seek to win their first Club World Cup against Palmeiras from Brazil on Saturday to wrap up a tournament of which the future remains shrouded in mystery.
Corinthians were the last club from outside Europe to win the global crown when they defeated the London club in 2012, 1-0.
Since then Real Madrid Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Liverpool have all claimed the title, but Palmeiras think Chelsea can be defeated, even if the combined value of €883 million to put together the London squad is almost five times the value of the Palmeiras squad.
In their 1-0 semi-final win against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, Chelsea were often sloppy and the Asian champions were prevented from equalising by superb goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Chelsea’s performance left the impression that they are the weakest European champions in a while, or that they perhaps aren’t taking this competition too seriously with more significant Premier League and Champions League challenges to come. Either way Palmeiras are looking to create an upset after their 2-0 last-four win against African champions Ah Ahly.
A decade ago, Corinthians, coached by current Brazil manager Tite at the time, sat back to stifle Chelsea and prevent the European champions from playing. The approach worked: a goalkeeper was the man of the match and Paulo Guerrero’s headed goal proved to be decisive. Palmeiras will also defend deep and try and absorb Chelsea’s pressure, with coach Abel Ferreira keen on protecting the goal.
The final will conclude the 2021 edition of the Club World Cup, which had to be delayed because of the global health crisis. Global governing body FIFA shoehorned the tournament into the congested calendar after Japan withdrew as hosts because of the Covid-19 pandemic. South Africa briefly flirted with the idea of bidding for the tournament, but ultimately the United Arab Emirates stepped at the last minute to host the seven-team competition for a fifth time, with all matches being staged in Abu Dhabi. The UAE have been outstanding hosts.
The future of the competition however remains in doubt. In 2021, FIFA had planned to expand the Club World Cup to a 24-team tournament, but the pandemic, a congested calendar and a lack of commercial backing kicked those plans into the long grass with no clear vision or roadmap for the future yet proposed.
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