‘Philly’s a sporting town, isn’t it?’ Club World Cup has introduced fans from around the world to our city

As the FIFA Club World Cup wound down its groups-stage matches Philly got its first win-or-go-home event on Wednesday night between Esp rance de Tunisie and Chelsea with both sides vying for second place in group D and a spot in the Round of Chelsea prevailed after Esp rance conceded two quick goals before halftime and then a third in what became a stagnant championship Brazilian side Flamengo clinched its spot in the knockout rounds with wins over both Esp rance and Chelsea at Lincoln Financial Field last week and a draw with Los Angeles FC Chelsea s Tosin Adarabioyo center celebrates with teammates after scoring his side s opening goal during the Club World Cup Group D soccer match between Esperance Tunisie and Chelsea in Philadelphia Tuesday June AP Photo Chris Szagola Wednesday night s contest benefited from its p m start as the day s -plus degree temps in the daytime relented to marginally better by kickoff The championship s attendance was and ticket prices were just under on Ticketmaster as the encounter started Chelsea meetup Ahead of the encounter Chelsea supporters from near and far joined the Philly Blues supporters group at Tir na nOg in Center City to watch the earlier battle between Bayern Munich and Benfica and stay cool and hydrated before heading down to the Linc Dave Eilbacher an officer with the Philly Blues stated there was a noticeable change in the vibe from when Chelsea was last in Philly playing a friendly championship against Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League s first-ever Summer Series We knew this was going to be a competition but I think to the more casual viewer it s been a big surprise and even I was surprised when we got to the Linc on Friday and we saw not only the Chelsea fans there and huge endorsement but also the Flamengo fans that were there at the same time he mentioned Fans of English soccer crew Chelsea gather at Tir na nOg ahead of the association s FIFA Club World Cup encounter against Esp rance de Tunisie in at Lincoln Financial Field Nick Kariuki Billy Penn The influx of local fans for the games has also resulted in a bump in membership and the sales of merchandise that the group sells to help with costs We ve sold out of our T-shirts very promptly Eilbacher stated We definitely underestimated the demand for what people are wanting when it comes to the Philly Blues Eilbacher disclosed the supporters group had seen fans from London as well as other parts of Europe Asia and Africa I ve gotten to meet so various nice people all with similar interests It s really nice to see them all uniting behind one thing he noted Chance encounters One table at the bar had a group of young men watching the meeting Majority had never met each other until that afternoon Aaron Wu originally from Dallas came from Brooklyn where he was staying with his sister He initially travelled to Philly alone saw another Chelsea fan on the train and struck up a conversation One of them knew about the Philly Blues and their events through social media On their way there they bumped into two more fans who joined the group and then joined four more when they arrived at the bar It was really cool to see someone s jersey and just promptly be like Oh what s up what s your name he announced Just kind of feel a sense of district that would never exist without it Aaron Wu second from right and David Montoya third from right were part of a group of soccer fans who just met at Tir na nOg ahead of Chelsea s FIFA Club World Cup challenge against Esp rance de Tunisie in Philadelphia Nick Kariuki Billy Penn For the English contingent of Chelsea fans at the bar who obviously get to see the London-based club more frequently the band s visit offered a chance to see the crew against unique competition and visit the U S It s a good time to do it all reported Alan Bird who came with his son Dan from London for both of Chelsea s games and has gotten in particular sight-seeing in Philly and New York See good games And playing a Brazilian side it s very colorful and they bring loads of people like they do when they play in the World Cup Alan Bird left and his son Dan who came from London for Chelsea s FIFA Club World Cup match against Esp rance de Tunisie in Philadelphia Nick Kariuki Billy Penn The tournament hasn t been all smiles for the travelling Chelsea fans The unit s first challenge against LAFC in Atlanta drew just spectators far short of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium s -seat ceiling Last week s Flamengo championship in Philly which Chelsea lost in what was widely considered an upset drew a far more respectable people to the Linc though the atmosphere left numerous Chelsea fans feeling outnumbered and uncharacteristically for a Premier League giant like the underdog Ben Hardy from London saw all three games in person While he s enjoyed them he reported he wasn t surprised that the atmosphere has been subpar from what he s used to in Chelsea s regular season If anyone thinks they re going to be high atmosphere and people think they re going to be intense they don t know he noted The Flamengo fans bought a lot the other day That was invariably going to happen I think Esp rance will do that tonight as well But that competition in Atlanta I was talking to a guy in the bar and noted it was the night before a event for a ticket the next day Ridiculous money People aren t going to pay that Chelsea fan Ben Hardy from London left had both praise and criticism during his time following the association during the FIFA Club World Cup and getting specific sightseeing in Nick Kariuki Billy Penn Philly s ticket prices so far have been more dynamic and affordable dipping as low as at times History lessons Overall Hardy explained the trip has been quality especially the chances to do particular sight-seeing between games Done the Liberty Bell done the Rocky actions went to Reading Terminal Territory this morning he mentioned Outside of Philly itself went to Gettysburg for two days I ll confess my sins I m a nerd I love history So for me that was massive In England we don t learn about U S history very much so I really enjoyed doing that For the fans who only get to see Chelsea on TV like Wu and his friends the chance to see Chelsea play in person was a rare treat and the level of competition that the Club World Cup was providing made the match worth the trip People are kind of saying the Club World Cup is like kind of a joke but I mean at least from the fan perspective it s rare that Chelsea comes to America So for me I m taking this seriously because this is one of the rare opportunities for me to see my club he explained David Montoya one the guys at Wu s table came to Philly just hours before the tournament from Toronto The convenient advance paired with relatively affordable ticket prices made his first live European soccer experience an exciting one While it s expected that tickets will be more expensive and complex to get for next year s World Cup he s still optimistic We re very happy because the World Cup is also coming to Toronto so we being from Toronto locally living there is going to be a party Montoya noted We ll look for tickets and I know it s gonna be hard but very very excited for this Montoya reported he had already started looking at World Cup ticket information and plans to catch the games in Toronto and wherever else might be achievable Whether majority England fans will be returning to Philly next year is based on one major factor Depends where England is playing Dan Bird explained Philly s a sporting town isn t it Should England get certain games in Philly through the World Cup draw the English fans who have gotten the chance to see chosen soccer in the city reported they d definitely consider coming back Philly s a sporting town isn t it declared Chelsea fan Joe Nolan who came from London to catch the event as part of a first visit to the U S which will include a road trip down the East Coast So I think it d be a nice trip for the World Cup definitely Chelsea fans Kate and Joe Nolan who came in from London to catch the contest against Esp rance de Tunisie as part of a first visit road trip down the U S east coast Philly s final group stage contest is between Spanish giant Real Madrid and Austria s Red Bull Salzburg Expectations are that the attendance will be high given the global popularity of Madrid and its superstar players like Kylian Mbapp Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham Mbapp has missed the tournament so far due to an acute matter of gastroenteritis but the World Cup winner is expected to play The teams that will play in the Linc s two knockout games has become clearer this week Brazilian sides Botafogo and Palmerias will face off this Saturday in a round-of- match and the winner of that will take on the winner between Portuguese side Benfica and Chelsea in the quarterfinal event on the Fourth of July Match notes Just like the first competition against Flamengo Esp rance supporters brought the noise with a multitude of taking over Race Street Pier the night before the event and marching in from FDR Park ahead of Tuesday night s tournament They packed behind the north-end goal of the Linc and stayed standing chanting and caroling throughout the contest No flares or smoke bombs came out like they did from the Moroccan side Wydad s fans in the club s games against Juventus and Manchester City but banners and signage in patronage of Palestine went up at two points Both times they seemed to be voluntarily taken down by the fans On the field the challenge was closely contested till right before halftime when the Tunisian unit seemed to switch off and Chelsea scored with a header from Tosin Adarabioyo off a set piece then briskly doubled their lead through new signing Liam Delap s low shot The second half was a tepid affair with Chelsea mainly in control A penalty was given to Chelsea for a handball Right after forward Christopher Nkunku stepped forward to take it though the referee was urged by the video assistant referee to review the play He went to the offield TV monitor and reversed his call Chelsea did number its third goal in the th minute when -year-old winger Tyrique George s shot overpowered Esp rance goalkeeper Bechir Ben Sa d The Esp rance faithful true to their form this tournament stayed well after the final whistle to cheer their club when they came over to do the same Esperance de Tunis Chiheb Jebali greets fans following the Club World Cup Group D soccer match between Esperance Tunisie and Chelsea in Philadelphia Tuesday June AP Photo Matt Slocum The post Philly s a sporting town isn t it Club World Cup has introduced fans from around the world to our city appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY