By Okon Ekpenyong (All photos by FIFA)

The 2025 Club World Cup Final is here, and come Sunday, July 13, at MetLife Stadium in East Ruthford, New Jersey, it will be as loud as ever, and a new champion will be crowned. I am not the only one excited about it—2012 Winner Chelsea to play Paris-Saint Germain, the club’s first appearance. 

What began with 32 teams from various regions and confederations on June 14 has now narrowed down to just two teams. To date, there have been 192 goals scored in the tournament at 12 different venues in 11 host cities.

Approximately 38,886 people attended each game, according to FIFA’s latest update and multiple sources. International football fans have come out throughout the tournament to support not just their favorite clubs, but also knowing that the World Cup in 2026 will be here in North America, another reason for the much-anticipated excitement. The United States is hosting most of the matches. The excitement is too much to bear, so fans will grab new merchandise or pull out an old jersey.

Chelsea from the Premier League, and Paris-Saint Germain, who recently won the 2025 Union of European Football Association Championship for the first time in their history, and compete in the Ligue 1, a French football league, will face off on July 13. Chelsea won the club’s first and only one in 2012 since the tournament began in 2000, but it will be their first final appearance for PSG.

They would love to remind everybody that they still have it despite losing players like Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappé. Also, Mbappé left the club in 2024 after signing with Real Madrid. He faced his former team in the semifinals of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, but Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) advanced with a 4-0 victory. “We are in a special season, a special moment, and we have one more step against an excellent team like Chelsea. Now it’s time to prepare. We want to make history for our club,” Luis Enrique, Paris Saint-Germain head coach, said.

The report said PSG kept a clean sheet in seven past matches. Donnarumma, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Beraldo, Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, João Neves, Fabian Ruiz, Doue, Dembele, and Kvaratskhelia are the projected starters for PSG. Meanwhile, Sanchez, James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Nkunku, Palmer, Neto, and João Pedro will take center stage for Chelsea.

According to FIFA, PSG lost only one game out of the eleven played, while Chelsea won thirteen out of their fifteen matches. Another interesting statistic before the matchup is that Chelsea’s player rotation may be a key factor in their success; so far, 27 players have participated in the tournament.

“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. 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,” Enzo Maresca, Chelsea head coach, said, reflecting the team’s determination to win.

Both clubs want the bragging rights on who is the best and who is the last team standing, and they will make the necessary adjustments in their lineup to ensure victory comes on Sunday. For Chelsea, its primary defender, Levi Colwill, will return after a ban to help the team in areas where they struggle the most. And the combo between Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah in central defense often proves problematic for its opponent. 

Another player coming back will be Liam Delap, who will fuel excitement because of concerns about favorites. However, since João Pedro, the lead striker, has been filling in for him, and has played to his potential. João Pedro may see more playing time especially since he scored twice in the semifinals match against Brazilian club Fluminense for Chelsea to advance to the final on sunday. So, with both players rejoining the team, experts predict Chelsea will take this one. 

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