In the first of our Club World Cup diary entries, Blues skipper Reece James discusses the squad getting to work in Philadelphia, how the new additions to the group are settling in, and the challenges ahead at this summer's tournament.
It’s great to be back in Philadelphia, although I certainly didn’t expect to feel cold here!
We had our first session today and it felt fresh. But we’re certainly not complaining – and we all know it’s going to get hotter when we travel to Atlanta.
Being back on the grass with the boys, and a few new faces, was great. Training was intense, which is what we need and what I enjoy.
Morale is high, too. That’s natural after the way we ended the season. Securing Champions League football and then lifting the Conference League has helped us a lot. We all want that winning feeling again. We all want more for this club.
It’s why everyone is hungry to do well at this tournament. We want to go as far as we can and show everyone what we are about as a a group.
The new boys with us are high quality players and have got straight up to speed. Some know a few of the lads from previous clubs, which has helped them settle. It’s also my role as captain to ensure they adapt and understand the demands of Chelsea.
I am really looking forward to this tournament; it will certainly provide new challenges for us. There are teams and players we wouldn’t normally come up against in Europe, and that is something I feel is a huge positive for this tournament.
It’s an opportunity to test ourselves against clubs from across the world - and we want to show everyone how good we are.
Of course, there will also be a couple of familiar faces that we come up against during the group stage: Olivier Giroud at LAFC and Jorginho at Flamengo.
We shared some great memories and made history as team-mates here at Chelsea, so it’s always great to see them. I wish them all the best for this summer…apart from when we face them!
For us, it all begins on Monday. We want to keep taking steps in the right direction. For that, we need to make sure we prepare right and then get the results we need. It will be tough, but we will be ready.
See you in Atlanta.
Chelsea's opening game against LAFC kicks off at 8pm UK time on Monday. You can watch that and every other game at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 live for free by signing up with DAZN here.