Chelsea will be hoping to seal their spot in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) final with victory against Brazil’s Fluminense in the opening semifinal on today at MetLife Stadium, just outside New York.
The Blues are striving to become the first side to win the CWC for a second time but face a formidable task against the Rio de Janeiro giants, who are unbeaten in the tournament.
Chelsea finished second in Group D to another Brazilian super club, Flamengo.
The London-based club opened their campaign with a 2-1 win over Los Angeles FC, before stumbling to a tough 3-1 loss against Flamengo. They qualified for the knockout stage with a 3-0 defeat of Esperance de Tunisie.
Enzo Maresca’s side faced the Group C winners Benfica in the last 16, beating the Portuguese side 4-1 after extra time.
The Blues then played a second Brazilian club in the quarterfinals, beating Palmeiras 2-1 to qualify for the final four.
Fluminense, who qualified for the CWC as winners of the 2023 Copa Libertadores, were unbeaten in Group F, finishing second behind Borussia Dortmund with one win and two draws.
They played out a 0-0 scoreline with Dortmund in their tournament opener, then defeated South Korean side Ulsan HD 4-2. In their final group fixture, they played out 0-0 against Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa.
In the knockout phase, Fluminense upset Inter Milan 2-0 in Charlotte, then ended the fairytale run of Saudi club Al Hilal in the quarterfinal, winning 2-1 and booking their place in today’s semifinal.
The inspirational 40-year-old, regarded by many as one of the greatest defenders of all time, is the former skipper of Chelsea, having played more than 150 matches for the English club from 2020 until 2024.
Silva was a fan favourite at Stamford Bridge and won three trophies during his time with Chelsea, including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Silva is expected to be in the starting XI against his old club.
Chelsea will be without Levi Colwill and Liam Delap after both received their second yellow cards of the tournament against Palmeiras in the quarterfinal.
Moises Caicedo will rejoin the Blues squad after serving his suspension.
Key defender Rene returns to the Fluminense side from suspension and is expected to reclaim his place in the starting XI at the expense of Gabriel Fuentes, whom coach Renato Gaucho might redeploy in an attacking midfield role against Chelsea.
Talisman Jhon Arias should again lead Fluminense’s forward line.
