Atlanta and Mercedes-Benz Stadium know they are scheduled to host eight matches in the 2026 World Cup.
They don’t yet know if they will host matches in next year’s Club World Cup, which will feature 32 teams from leagues around the world competing to see which is best.
Wednesday’s friendly between Chelsea of England’s Premier League and Club America of LIGA MX, won 3-0 by the Blues, provided a glimpse of the environment that can be expected should the city and stadium be selected by FIFA to host matches in next year’s event.
More than 38,000 tickets were sold. Club America’s supporters dominated attendance. A large group wearing the club’s signature yellow and waving at least 17 flags and banging numerous drums sat in one end. Yellow smoke devices were set off in the 89th minute, which set against the stadium’s red and black seats gave the match an Atlanta United color vibe. A large group of Chelsea supporters, wearing its club signature blue, sat in the opposite end that Atlanta United’s supporters groups usually occupy.
Sod from the same farm that was used for the two Copa America matches hosted here in June was put down for Wednesday’s match. Grass will also be put in for the Club World Cup, should the city host, and the World Cup.
In the past, some of the stadiums that have been selected to host World Cup matches are usually selected to host Club World Cup matches. Cities have been waiting for weeks for a decision from FIFA about which will host Club World Cup matches. Chelsea is one of 29 teams that has already qualified for the tournament. Club America won’t. Others that have qualified include Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, PSG, Porto, Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Juventus, Pachuca, Monterrey, Seattle, Leon, River Plate, Palmeiras, Fluminense and Flamengo.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said he enjoyed the temperature inside the stadium and he said the pitch was better than in the team’s previous friendlies but the surface could be improved before the Club World Cup.
“If you have better quality, the fans can enjoy and everybody can enjoy,” he said. “When the pitch isn’t good enough, you see teams, they struggle to play and I think it’s something also for the fans that they don’t enjoy it 100 percent.”
Miguel Martinez
Miguel Martinez
As for the match, Chelsea was using it as preparations for its upcoming season. It was the third match of the team’s summer tour. The Blues tied Wrexham 2-2 in their first match in Santa Clara, Calif. and were beaten by Celtic 4-1 in South Bend, Ind. The preseason campaign will continue against Manchester City in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday and Real Madrid on Aug. 6 in Charlotte.
Club America was using it as a warm-up for the Leagues Cup. It is in the Apertura portion of its LIGA MX schedule. Its next match will be in the Leagues Cup round of 32 on Aug. 10 against an opponent to be determined.
Chelsea took a 1-0 lead in the third minute when Christopher Nkunku converted a penalty kick. The kick was won by Romeo Lavia, who went down in the 18-yard box after what appeared to be no contact made by Cristian Calderon, who started to make a tackle before pulling up short.
Right winger Javairo Dilrosun forced a save from Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez in the 12th minute when he pushed away a left-footed shot from 20 yards that appeared to be curling into the upper left corner.
Chelsea took a 2-0 lead in the 21st minute on a short-range header by Marc Guiu, who signed from Barcelona on July 1. It was assisted by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Dilrosun hit the cross bar in the 42nd minute as he continued to provide Club America’s best attacks.
Nkunku forced another penalty after a dazzling run through several defenders that was stopped when he was tackled by goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota in the 78th minute. Noni Madueke converted the kick two minutes, after a bit of arguing by Club America players with referee Malik Badawi, to increase Chelsea’s lead to 3-0.
Miguel Martinez
Miguel Martinez
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