Chelsea secured their spot in the knockout stage of the FIFA Club World Cup, set for June 24, 2025, by defeating Esperance of Tunisia 3-0.
They will face Benfica in the round of 16 after Benfica’s earlier victory over Bayern Munich, which ended 1-0 in extremely hot conditions.
The match took place at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, where Chelsea dominated Group D with a decisive 3-0 win against Esperance on Tuesday.
New signing Liam Delap scored his first goal for the club with a well-placed shot during stoppage time at the end of the first half, shortly after Tosin Adarabioyo had given Chelsea the lead with a header.
Teenage talent Tyrique George sealed the victory with Chelsea’s third goal deep into injury time, firing a low shot that slipped past Esperance goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said.
Flamengo, who had already secured the top position in the group with victories over Chelsea and Esperance, concluded their first-round campaign with a 1-1 draw against the already eliminated LAFC in Orlando.
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Los Angeles forward Denis Bouanga nearly led his team to an upset with a goal in the 84th minute, but Wallace Yan equalized for Flamengo just two minutes later.
In Charlotte, Benfica’s Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal of their Group C match against Bayern Munich, finding the net from a cutback by fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th minute, in front of 33,287 spectators.
The German champions, who left stars like Harry Kane and Michael Olise on the bench at the start, struggled to recover in the sweltering heat of North Carolina.
Kane and Olise were brought on at halftime, making Bayern appear more threatening, but Leroy Sane was thwarted by Benfica’s Ukrainian goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin when he was clear on goal.
A draw would have allowed Bayern to top the group, but a goal from Kimmich was disallowed for offside, and Trubin denied Sane again, while Kane missed a late header.
