2025 FIFA Club World Cup Final: Glory for England or France?
by Bradley Gibbs | by Bradley Gibbs
When is the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Final?
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Final will be played on Sunday afternoon, kicking off at 15:00 EST. The game will take place in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the teams will clash at MetLife Stadium, which is the NFL home of both the New York Giants and the New York Jets.
This will be the second time that the Chelsea boys have got down to business in East Rutherford, with Enzo Maresca’s players playing their semi-final against Fluminense at MetLife Stadium. PSG also had a test run at MetLife Stadium, which is where they battered Spanish giants Real Madrid in the semi-final, winning by four goals to zero. Surely they can’t repeat such an effort here, can they?
How did the teams get here?
It was always going to be tough to predict how the big European teams would do at this tournament. Of course, the handful of European big dogs undoubtedly had the quality to go far, but with them coming off the back of long and hard domestic campaigns, nobody really knew which teams would be seriously going for glory in the US.
Evidently, the Blues have taken things more seriously than many people would’ve expected, reaching the final thanks to some very decisive performances, though the road to the final hasn’t been without a few bumps.
Having beaten LAFC in sturdy fashion on matchday one, Maresca’s men were undone by the counter-attacking brilliance of Brazilian side Flamengo on matchday two, before booking their place in the knockouts thanks to a routine win against Esperance Tunis. Their victory over Benfica in the first knockout round was a little less routine, with extra time being needed, before the extra quality of the Premier League side shone through.
The quarter-finals presented a similarly tough test, with Chelsea edging beyond Palmeiras, thanks largely to an own goal inside the final ten minutes. That narrow success paved the way for a third game against Brazilian opposition, and this time, it was a little more simple, as Maresca’s men beat Fluminense by two goals to zero, putting themselves one step away from world domination.
As the UEFA Champions League winners, PSG were always expected to thrive in the US, and thrive they have, hammering Atletico Madrid 4-0 in their first game, before an unlikely defeat against Botafogo was followed by an easy victory against Seattle Sounders of the MLS.
Despite featuring Lionel Messi, Inter Miami were never going to threaten the European champions in the knockouts, let’s be honest. A second 4-0 win of the competition set up a blockbuster quarter-final tie against German champions Bayern, who never really found their stride, losing to Luis Enrique’s men by two goals to zero, while the Real Madrid boys also never landed a glove on the Parisians, who’ve reached this final keeping four clean sheets on the spin.
Make the Club World Cup Final pay with these player props
Ahead of what ought to be a great occasion, looking at the early lines, there are a couple of interesting player props. Spice up the game by getting stuck into these (if you dare).
Pedro Neto Over 0.5 Shots on Target
We’ll start with Pedro Neto, who at odds of +110, looks like a fantastic shot-on-target bet. The Portuguese forward is at his best when hitting teams on the break, so he really should enjoy playing against a PSG side that pushed high up the pitch at all times.
Neto has been in fine form since touching down in the US, scoring three goals at this tournament, averaging a very decent 0.79 shots on target per 90 minutes. The 25-year-old has registered four shots on target in five appearances, while it really is difficult to see him thriving on the break against a team of PSG’s nature.
Desire Doue to Score
I’m also not going to shy away from betting on the fabulous Desire Doue to find the net, despite the French youngster’s relative lack of goals at this tournament. Doue, who ended the 2024/25 season in unbelievably hot form, scoring twice in the UEFA Champions League Final has only scored once in the US, but he’s continued to look like a striker hungry for goals, which bodes well.
After a modest group campaign, Doue came alive against Bayern, scoring with a superbly executed strike from the edge of the box, and with that under his belt, he’ll surely be looking for more in the final. After all, at the FIFA Club World Cup, only one PSG player has taken more shots than Doue, who averaged 0.45 goals per 90 minutes in all competitions last season.
