Reece James: "Our goal is to win"

(photo: Sofia Cupertino)

The FIFA Club World Cup opens its summer run in Atlanta on Monday, June 16 as Chelsea will be in action against a team to be determined. Club León was removed from the competition for failing to meet the criteria around multi-club ownership and their replacement will be announced soon.

Reece James spoke to FIFA about the upcoming competition and made it clear that his squad are coming to the U.S. to win the inaugural expanded tournament. "The goal for any competition is to win. We have an amazing squad, amazing team, amazing manager, and our goal is to win."

Chelsea is currently fourth in the Premier League table and will be facing Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League quarterfinals starting on April 10. While they look finish the current season strong, the looming Club World Cup provides some additional motivation for the group. James said, "Everyone at the club is excited. The best players want to play against the best. It should be an

exciting tournament."

One of the interesting elements that Hernán Crespo told us about with this competition is playing clubs from different parts of the world in meaningful matches. When asked about playing squads from different continents, James said, "It could be difficult as well, because we’re used to playing against teams in and around Europe. So, the style is going to be different, how they prepare,

how they set up; it will be tough."

After their match in Atlanta, Chelsea will play their next two in Philadelphia against Flamengo of Brazil and Espérance of Tunisia as they try to reach knockout rounds.