Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain To Battle For Club World Cup Glory
We preview the final match.
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup has entered its final days, with the world gathering at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday to crown its champion. Thirty-two teams have been whittled down to two, as Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain will take the field to try and win a trophy.
The 2025 Club World Cup Final will be the 9th time Chelsea and PSG have faced each other, with PSG winning 3 of the previous meetings. Chelsea has beaten PSG twice, and three times the teams have settled for a draw. There will be a winner on Sunday, and that team that emerges victorious will get the Club World Cup winners’ badge to wear on their jersey for the next four years.
Chelsea FC’s Path to the Final
Group Stage (Group D Runners-up): W 2-0 vs. LAFC; L 1-3 vs. Flamengo; W 3-0 vs. Espérance de Tunis
Round of 16: W 4-1 vs. Benfica
Quarterfinals: W 2-1 vs. Palmeiras
Semifinals: W 2-0 vs. Fluminense
Chelsea struggled a bit in Group D play. They opened up against Los Angeles FC, who had just been added to the tournament 16 days prior to their matchup. Despite the 2-0 victory, Chelsea was getting their footing throughout the match. Chelsea’s second match saw them against Flamengo, who punched them right in the face as the Blues lost 3-1. They were able to regroup and beat Espérance de Tunis 3-0 in relatively easy fashion to advance to the knockout stage.
There, they defeated Benfica 4-1 in the Round of 16, setting up a path that included two more Brazilian teams. Despite some tough play, Chelsea was able to hold off Palmeiras in the quarterfinals, winning 2-1. In the semifinals, Chelsea battled Fluminense and it was newly-acquired João Pedro - whose boyhood club was Fluminense - who was the hero. His brace was the difference in a 2-0 victory to give Chelsea this prime opportunity.
PSG’s Path to the Final
Group Stage (Group B winners): W 4-0 vs. Atlético Madrid; L 0-1 vs. Botafogo; W 2-0 vs. Seattle Sounders
Round of 16: W 4-0 vs. Inter Miami
Quarterfinals: W 2-0 vs. Bayern Munich
Semifinals: W 4-0 vs. Real Madrid
Paris Saint-Germain, like Chelsea, struggled against a Brazilian team in the group stage. They opened up the tournament with a 4-0 thrashing of Atlético Madrid, but then lost 1-0 to Botafogo in surprising fashion. The 2025 UEFA Champions League winners finished out Group B with a win over Seattle Sounders. In the Round of 16, PSG destroyed Inter Miami with another 4-0 win before beating Bayern Munich 2-0 in the quarterfinals despite being reduced to 9 men after late red cards to Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez. In the semifinals, PSG showed true dominance in shellacking Real Madrid with another 4-0 victory.
What to Watch
Who’s back, who’s not. PSG will continue to be without defenders Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez, who remain suspended for the final from their red cards against Bayern Munich. However, Ousmane Dembele - the presumed frontrunner for the Ballon d’Or - appears to have no issues from the injury that kept him out for much of the last month. Look for him to be in the lineup for the European champions. On the other side, Chelsea welcomes back Levi Colwill and Liam Delap from suspension for this match, but could be without Moises Caicedo due to an ankle injury he sustained late in the semifinal win against Fluminense.
Fire meets heat. Both teams enter the match on a bit of a heater. Chelsea have won 13 of their past 15 matches in all competitions, while PSG have won 10 of their past 11 matches. Seven of their past 8 matches have seen the Paris side keep a clean sheet, and they have only conceded one goal in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Both teams will also have to deal with the heat, with temperatures expected to be in the high 80s with tons of humidity. Both Luis Enrique and Enzo Maresca will have to utilize all of their subs during the mid-afternoon match in East Rutherford, but it could be a slight reprieve from their semifinal matches in the same stadium.
This will be a coach’s battle. This will be a tactical battle for Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca and PSG head coach Luis Enrique. It’s the first time Luis Enrique has coached against Chelsea, and he’s looking forward to the challenge. “We are in a special season, a special moment, and we have one more step against a very good team like Chelsea. Now it’s time to prepare. We want to make history for our club,” Enrique said to FIFA.com ahead of the match. For Enzo Maresca, it’s a chance for Chelsea to cap off a long season with a trophy. “It is a great achievement. It has been a fantastic season - top four in the Premier League, Conference League and now in the final of this competition,” Enzo said. “We are so, so happy. We go game by game. Finally we have the last game of the season and hopefully we can win the tournament.” Both teams have the star power, but it’s about the game plan and the execution, and for fans of tactics, it should be a great final to witness.
Prediction
Paris Saint-Germain has been running on all cylinders for most of the tournament and they show that they’re the best team in the world. It all comes together on Sunday as they take out Chelsea 3-1 to win the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.