ESPN’s leaks from the weekend were partially correct, it turns out, as this summer’s International Champions Cup (ICC) fixtures were confirmed this morning. ESPN had the opponents and two of the three venues correct.
Chelsea were rumored to be set for games in Sweden and Singapore, and while the former is true, the latter turns out to have been a fair bit wrong. Instead of Singapore, where Chelsea visited last summer, the Blues will be heading to Poland to play Sevilla in the first of three games for ICC 2018.
Including the already scheduled friendly against Perth in Australia (outside of this summer tournament), Chelsea’s preseason schedule currently looks like this:
- July 23: vs. Perth Glory in Perth, Australia
- July 28: vs. Sevilla in Warsaw, Poland
- August 1: vs. Internazionale in Gothenburg, Sweden
- August 4: vs. Arsenal in Stockholm, Sweden
The 2018-19 Premier League then begins on August 11. Should Chelsea win the FA Cup next month, the friendly against Arsenal would be called off due to the Community Shield taking place that same weekend.
With less than a month of preparation time between the World Cup final on July 15 and the first match of the new season, Chelsea will have to be on point not just in the newly shortened transfer market (now closing before the start of league play) but on the training ground as well. This timeline also means that Chelsea are unlikely to add too many more games to the preseason slate. Sorry, rest of the world, but it’s for the best.