2025 FIFA Club World Cup: Joao Pedro’s brace sends Chelsea to the grand final
9th July 2025
Instant Impact: Joao Pedro’s brace was enough to help Chelsea beat Fluminense to reach 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final.
The English Premier League side hit two past Brazilian opponents Fluminense in the first FIFA Club World Cup semifinal fixture at the Metlife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday, July 8 2025 to seal a place in the grand final of the tournament.
Prior to the semifinal game, UEFA Europa Conference League champions, Chelsea had beaten Brazilian side Palmeiras by 2-1 as it was the second time they played with a Brazilian side at the tourney, having lost 3-1 to Flamengo in the second round of Group fixtures. They came into the semifinal as a very strong side to compete against the third Brazilian side they were playing at the tournament, to make a statement for the occasion.
Fluminense on the other hand, had won 2-1 in the quarterfinals against Saudi Pro League side, Al Hilal, edging them by a very narrow margin to seal a semifinal berth. They had gone five games unbeaten in their quest to reaching the semifinals of the competition, having won three of those and drawn two.
Going into the game, Fluminense head coach, Renato Gaucho tagges his side as the “underdogs” with the aim of making history by going all the way to clinching the maiden FIFA Club World Cup “new format” title.
From the blast of the whistle of the most anticipated game, Chelsea became the most dominant side, having lots of possession and creating lots of chances in the final third; it went on until the 18th minute where their efforts bore fruits as the former Fluminense boy who now represents Chelsea, Joao Pedro hit a ferocious curl from a few meters away from the 18 yard box, which was finessed by power, straight into the top corner of the net.
The former Brighton attacker was immediately apologetic after scoring against a side that brought him into the limelight, a side that gave hime his first professional appearance in 2019, turned straight to the fans in absolute penitence to render an apology, also still in a professional manner, jubilating with his teammates briefly.
Leading 1-0 before the 20th minute mark, Chelsea became the most promising side on the pitch, dominating play and piling pressure on Fluminense for the entire period left for the first half.
On the 28th minute, Fluminense had the chance to pull parity as talisman Jhon Arias’ effort was averted on the goal line as Cucurella made a promising goal line clearance to keep Chelsea ahead in the game.
Ten minutes later on the 38th minute, Fluminense won a penalty when Chelsea centre back Trevor Chalobah had the ball hit his hand but was eventually ruled out after VAR review. Chelsea continued to dominate play until the end of the first period.
The second half commenced on a good note for both sides as they locked horns against eachother and fiercely taking it to eachother squarely.
On the 58th minute, Joao Pedro scored the second goal for Chelse with a sumptuous strike from distance after a sublime pass from Enzo Fernandez caught him on a surging run from the left side of attack, which saw him hit the ball fiercely, striking the woodwork and getting to the back of the net. The former Fluminense boy had broken the heart of his former employers twice in only his first full debut for his new club— just days after he joined.
The 2021 champions finished the game with a 2-0 win going into the final as they await their potential opponents between Paris Saint Germain and Real Madrid who will be locking horns on Wednesday, July 9 2025.
Chelse have now become the first team to reach the finals of the competition on bothe the old and new formats and have also earned a whopping £83 million in their journey to the semifinals. They will be in line to winning a further £30 million if they win the title on Sunday, July 13.
After the game, Joao Pedro relished scoring a brace to help take Chelsea to the final of the competition after scoring a brace on his full debut.
"I play for Chelsea. They pay me to score goals. Today I was happy to score, even if it was against Fluminense”
“ I think it was a dream first start, I don't think it could be better. Two goals. Now we need to think about the final. I am very happy to score two goals today." He told DAZN