In a dream debut start for Chelsea, João Pedro delivered a dazzling two-goal performance against his boyhood club Fluminense, firing the Premier League side to a 2-0 victory in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals on Tuesday night at MetLife Stadium.
The 23-year-old Brazilian forward, signed just last week from Brighton & Hove Albion for £60 million ($81.5 million), needed only 18 minutes to open his Chelsea account in spectacular fashion. He doubled the lead early in the second half with another stunning finish, putting Chelsea on course for their second Club World Cup final appearance in four years.
Chelsea will meet the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s final, also to be played at MetLife Stadium.
João Pedro’s performance carried an emotional weight. A product of the Fluminense youth academy, Pedro made 25 senior appearances for the Rio de Janeiro side before heading to England in 2019 to join Watford. He eventually became a rising star at Brighton before completing his move to Chelsea earlier this summer.
After debuting as a substitute in Chelsea’s second-round win over Palmeiras in Philadelphia, Pedro was handed his first start Tuesday and made an immediate impact. Winning possession in midfield, he launched the attack that led to his opening goal. After playing the ball to winger Pedro Neto on the right, he drifted to the top of the box to receive Neto’s deflected cross, took two composed touches, and curled a right-footed shot beyond Fluminense goalkeeper Fábio into the top-right corner.
His second goal in the 56th minute was even more emphatic. After collecting Enzo Fernández’s outlet ball near the left touchline, Pedro burst into the box, danced around a defender with a sharp cutback, and blasted a shot off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.
The Brazilian club, who finished runners-up in the 2023 Club World Cup (under its previous, smaller format), showed promise in the first half but couldn’t find the net. In the 26th minute, Hércules looked certain to equalize, only for Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella to make a heroic goal-line clearance with Robert Sánchez stranded. Ten minutes later, Fluminense thought they had a penalty when Trevoh Chalobah was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area. But after video review, French referee Francois Letexier reversed his decision, ruling the defender’s arm was in a natural position.
The loss marked the end of Fluminense’s run and the elimination of the final non-European team in the expanded 2025 edition of the tournament. All four Brazilian entrants had reached the knockout stage, and two advanced to the quarterfinals, underlining the nation’s depth — but Europe’s dominance continued.
With Tuesday’s win, Chelsea are guaranteed a payout between $88.4 million and $103.8 million depending on FIFA’s yet-undisclosed participation bonuses. Regardless, the Blues are just one win away from a second Club World Cup crown, having lifted the trophy in 2021.
European clubs are now assured their 12th consecutive Club World Cup triumph and 17th in the tournament’s 18 editions. The lone exception remains Corinthians’ victory over Chelsea in 2012 — a defeat the Blues may finally feel they’ve avenged on Tuesday.
Despite a sweltering 3 p.m. kickoff under the July sun on the U.S. east coast, more than 70,000 fans filled the home of the New York Giants and Jets to witness João Pedro’s heroics and Chelsea’s march into the final.
With a world-class forward already making his mark and a massive final looming, Chelsea’s summer is heating up on and off the pitch.
