Chelsea have progressed to the knockout stage of the FIFA Club World Cup after breezing past Espérance de Tunis 3-0 on 24th June 2025. Despite the searing heat in Philadelphia, the Blues controlled the games in their victory over the North Africa side.
We’ll take a look back at Chelsea’s tournament to date, what faces them in the last 16, and whether the trip across the pond has been worth the trouble (the £28m they’ve earned from it already, suggests the owners might think it has!).
Chelsea’s Club World Cup 2025 – Group Stage
Chelsea were drawn in Group D at the Club World Cup, alongside the aforementioned Espérance de Tunis, Los Angeles FC, and Flamengo of Brazil. The Blues’ first game was against LA at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on 16th June. Liam Delap, who Chelsea recently signed from Ipswich, came on as a second-half substitute to make his debut for his new club as Enzo Maresca’s men beat the US side 2-0. The goals came from Pedro Neto just after the half-hour mark, with Enzo Fernandez tapping in Delap’s cross for the second with 11 minutes left.
One of the biggest talking points of the game was the poor attendance, with barely 22,000 fans in the arena that holds more than 70,000. This will certainly be a concern to FIFA with the World Cup in the USA (and Mexico and Canada) just a year away. Back to the football action, though, and it was a positive result for Maresca and for new man Delap in particular, who looked energetic and exciting in his half-hour on the pitch.
Brazilians Too Good for Flagging Blues
Next up, Chelsea faced a much tougher challenge against seven-time Brazilian champions and three-time Copa Libertadores victors Flamengo. It was Chelsea who struck first, however, when Neto once again got himself on the scoresheet after 13 minutes with an assured finish.
In a relatively even match, the Brazilians gradually began to apply pressure and got themselves back into the game after 62 minutes when Bruno Henrique tapped in. He’d only been on the pitch for a few minutes, but his goal rejuvenated Filipe Luís’s side, who got their noses in front three minutes later through Danilo.
Things took a turn for the worse for the Blues within minutes of going behind when striker Nicolas Jackson was given his marching orders after a rash and potentially dangerous challenge on Lucas Ayrton. A man down, Chelsea were unable to force their way back into the match and Flamengo took full advantage, Wallace Yan getting the Brazilians’ third goal as the game ended 3-1.
No Mistakes in Final Group Game
Thankfully for Maresca and his team, their final group game was their easiest, with the side from Tunis offering little resistance. The North African outfit couldn’t muster a single shot on target as Chelsea ran rings around them. The Blues enjoyed 74.1% of the possession and arguably should have converted more of their 16 shots on goal (with only seven on target). Still, there were plenty of positives, not least Delap scoring his first goal for his new club with a nicely placed shot. Tosin Adarabioyo and Tyrique George were the other goalscorers in the 3-0 victory, but their loss to Flamengo means it was only enough to finish second in the group… but as we shall see, that might just be a blessing in disguise.
Who Will Chelsea Face in the Knockout Stages?
Chelsea book their spot in the Club World Cup round of 16 where they’ll face Benfica ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/E3QxPkZvqg
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 25, 2025
The winners of Chelsea’s Group D were set to face the second-placed side from Group C, with the winners of that group facing the runners-up of Chelsea’s group. With Group C containing Bayern Munich, Benfica, Boca Juniors and Auckland City, the Blues would certainly have been targeting a top-of-the-table finish to hopefully avoid Bayern. As it turns out, Vincent Kompany’s Bayern only managed to finish second in their group after losing their final group game 1-0 to Benfica.
As such, the Blues face the Portuguese giants in the Round of 16, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although Benfica edged past Bayern, we suspect Maresca would rather face the Portuguese side than the German champions on any given occasion. Bruno Lage’s men only managed a 2-2 draw against Boca Juniors, who in turn could only draw 1-1 against Auckland (who Bayern walloped 10-0). In knockout football, anything can happen, but Blues fans will be quietly confident of getting past Benfica, not least because they have a 100% record against them (although their three meetings took place in 2012 and 2013).
If Chelsea make it through to the quarters, they’ll be heading back to Philadelphia, where they face another opponent from Brazil, specifically the winner of the all-Brazil Round of 16 match between Palmeiras and Botafogo. Palmeiras had a relatively easy group alongside Porto (with whom they shared a 0-0 draw), Egyptian side Al Ahly (whom they beat 2-0), and Inter Miami (against whom they also got a draw, this time 2-2). They did enough to top Group A to set up the last-16 tie against the surprise runners-up in Group B.
It’s fair to say, Botafogo had a much tougher group, with European champions Paris Saint-Germain and three-time Europa League winners Atletico Madrid offering particularly stern opposition. Seattle Sounders completed the group, and Botafogo edged past the US side in their opening fixture 2-1. It was their next match, however, that really made the headlines, as they got the better of the mighty PSG, 1-0, thanks to a goal from Igor Jesus. They lost their final match against Atletico, but went through on goal difference.
If Maresca’s side can negotiate their potentially tricky quarter final against one of Brazil’s finest, things could get tricky as they could face Juventus, Manchester City or Inter Milan. But Maresca and co won’t be looking that far ahead at this stage.
Can Chelsea Go All the Way?
Although the Blues’ coaching team might not be looking towards the semis and beyond, we sure can. We think the Premier League outfit will have enough to get to the semis at least, and then it might be as much down to who they’ll face as anything.
Having come into the tournament on a relative high with their Europa Conference League success, and with a few eager and so-far-impressive new players, the Blues have as good a chance as anyone of going all the way. If they do, it will set them up very nicely ahead of the 2025/26 season, when hopefully they’ll kick on and have a real go at the Premier League title.