Chelsea midfielder Jorginho admits winning their first-ever FIFA Club World Cup trophy is not a forgone conclusion with Palmeiras awaiting them in the final on Saturday.
The European champions previously lost in the final back in 2012 despite their iconic squad that contained the likes of Frank Lampard, Eden Hazard and Petr Čech but after beating a defiant Al Hilal, the Blues are ready to make history.
Jorginho and his troops secured a narrow 1-0 win after Romelu Lukaku’s first-half strike downed the AFC champions who impressed with Moussa Marega and Odion Ighalo offering the English giants a real test.
“It’s very important and we’ll definitely be giving everything to bring the trophy home,” he told journalists after the game at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium.
“It was a difficult game against a good team, they caused us trouble but I think in the end we deserved the win and now we’ll go for the final.”
Abel Ferreira’s side dispatched Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly 2-0 in the other semi-final and with more than 10,000 supporters travelling to the United Arab Emirates, it may provide another tricky test for the Blues.
Without head coach Thomas Tuchel who is said to be back in London after testing positive for Covid-19, Jorginho, who’s born in Brazil understands how much the competition means to his compatriots.
Ironically, it was another Brazilian side, Corinthians, who denied them the same trophy a decade ago – with still represents the only trophy the club has not won under the Roman Abramovic era.
“[Palmeiras] will play with freedom because it’s very important for the people in Brazil, we’ll definitely give everything for this final and we need to be prepared,” the Italy international added.
“It’s an opportunity for them to play against a team from Europe, so for them, it’s a big thing – they going to come for us and we need to be prepared for that.”
Chelsea face the Copa Libertadores champions on Saturday evening at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium at 18h30 (GMT+2).
Story by Lorenz Kohler (@Lorenz_KO), who reports from the Club World Cup thanks to World Sports Betting.
