Los Angeles Football Club right-back Sergi Palencia knows what it’s like to go up against one of Europe’s biggest clubs. The former La Masia product played against Paris Saint-Germain while on loan with Bordeaux from Barcelona and remembers how “different” the preparation was.
“You are nervous in the belly all week. You are going to face big players on a big club,” said the 29-year-old Palencia, who is in his third season with the Major League Soccer (MLS) side. “I love for our team and for our club to experience that thing. I think we deserve it. It’s going to be a dream come true for us. We are going to fight.”
With a dramatic 2-1 extra-time victory against Club América in a 31 May play-in match, LAFC completed the 32-team FIFA Club World Cup™ field as the final squad in Group D, which includes 2022 Copa Libertadores winners CR Flamengo, two-time UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea FC and four-time CAF Champions League winners Espérance.
The Black and Gold will begin the tournament in Atlanta on 16 June against Chelsea, who have won every trophy there is to win in European football after defeating Real Betis in last month’s UEFA Conference League final.
LAFC have been a smashing success since debuting in MLS in 2018. They set the league record for most points in a season in 2019 and won MLS Cup as the league’s play-off champion in 2022.
Their ambition also has been measured by the caliber of players they have brought to LA such as Carlos Vela and Gareth Bale. The current roster features two FIFA World Cup™ winners from France in goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and striker Olivier Giroud.
Getting the chance to represent USA’s top domestic league as one of its three Club World Cup entrants, along with Inter Miami CF and Seattle Sounders FC, is just the latest achievement for a club that has been built on very big dreams. LAFC relish their latest golden opportunity: a match against the Blues at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with the world watching.
“We are going to be so focused, so ready,” Palencia said. “Let’s see what we can do. Let’s see how big is the difference [between the clubs].”
Head coach Steve Cherundolo told FIFA he is fully focused on LAFC’s first tournament opponent.
“Chelsea is one of the top organizations in the world,” the former Hannover 96 captain said. “They have so much talent and good players and quality on their side. We certainly have an eye there.”
Left-back Ryan Hollingshead reiterated LAFC’s eagerness to battle big-name clubs on the global stage. He also echoed Palencia’s battle cry, saying the Club World Cup games are “something that we’re not afraid of.”
“We want to go test ourselves and see where we match up against these guys,” Hollingshead told FIFA. “And we’re confident that we can go get results in this tournament. There’s no question about that — we’ve got to do it, there’s a lot of work to be done — but there’s no question [that] we’re not going in as an underdog [to] see what we can fight for. We’re going in to get results.”
