FIFA Club World Cup semi: Chelsea vs Fluminense team news, start and lineup

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Who: Chelsea vs Fluminense

What: Semifinal, FIFA Club World Cup 2025

Where: MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, United States

When: Tuesday, July 8 astatine 3pm section clip (19:00 GMT)

How to follow: We’ll person each the build-up connected Al Jazeera Sport from noon (16:00 GMT) successful beforehand of our unrecorded substance commentary stream.

Chelsea volition beryllium hoping to seal their spot successful the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) last with triumph against Brazil’s Fluminense successful the opening semifinal connected Tuesday.

The Blues are striving to go the archetypal broadside to triumph the CWC for a 2nd clip but look a formidable task against the Rio de Janeiro giants, who are unbeaten successful the tournament.

Here is each to cognize earlier their semifinal showdown astatine MetLife Stadium, conscionable extracurricular New York:

How did Chelsea scope the semifinals?

Chelsea finished 2nd successful Group D to different Brazilian ace club, Flamengo.

The London-based nine opened their run with a 2-1 triumph implicit Los Angeles FC, earlier stumbling to a pugnacious 3-1 nonaccomplishment against Flamengo. They qualified for the knockout signifier with a 3-0 decision of Esperance de Tunisie.

Enzo Maresca’s broadside faced the Group C winners Benfica successful the past 16, beating the Portuguese broadside 4-1 aft other time.

The Blues past played a 2nd Brazilian nine successful the quarterfinals, beating Palmeiras 2-1 to suffice for the last four.

Chelsea's Cole Palmer scores their archetypal goal

How did Fluminense scope the semifinals?

Fluminense, who qualified for the CWC arsenic winners of the 2023 Copa Libertadores, were unbeaten successful Group F, finishing 2nd down Borussia Dortmund with 1 triumph and 2 draws.

They played retired a 0-0 scoreline with Dortmund successful their tourney opener, past defeated South Korean broadside Ulsan HD 4-2. In their last radical fixture, they played retired 0-0 against Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa.

In the knockout phase, Fluminense upset Inter Milan 2-0 successful Charlotte, past ended the fairytale tally of Saudi nine Al Hilal successful the quarterfinal, winning 2-1 and booking their spot successful Tuesday’s semifinal.

Did Fluminense skipper Thiago Silva play for Chelsea?

The inspirational 40-year-old, regarded by galore arsenic 1 of the top defenders of each time, is the erstwhile skipper of Chelsea, having played much than 150 matches for the English nine from 2020 until 2024.

Silva was a instrumentality favourite astatine Stamford Bridge and won 3 trophies during his clip with Chelsea, including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

Silva is expected to beryllium successful the starting XI against his aged club.

Head-to-head

This volition beryllium the archetypal competitory gathering betwixt Fluminense and Chelsea.

When did Chelsea triumph the FIFA Club World Cup?

Chelsea won the 18th variation of the CWC successful 2021, hosted successful the United Arab Emirates.

The Blues won the last 2-1 against Palmeiras astatine the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium successful Abu Dhabi.

The tourney was primitively planned to instrumentality spot successful precocious 2021 successful Japan, but was moved to February 2022 successful the UAE owed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Is this the archetypal CWC quality for Fluminense?

Fluminense made their Club World Cup debut astatine the 2023 tourney successful Saudi Arabia, making it each the mode to the last successful Jeddah wherever they mislaid to Manchester City 4-0.

Team news: Chelsea

Chelsea volition beryllium without Levi Colwill and Liam Delap aft some received their 2nd yellowish cards of the tourney against Palmeiras successful the quarterfinal.

Moises Caicedo volition rejoin the Blues squad aft serving his suspension.

On the wounded front, Romeo Lavia and Reece James were some held backmost against Palmeiras and are questionable heading into Tuesday’s match. Omari Kellyman is unavailable for selection.

Team news: Fluminense

Fluminense volition beryllium without Juan Pablo Freytes and Mathues Martinelli – who scored the game-winner against Al Hilal successful the quarterfinal – aft some received their 2nd yellowish cards of the tourney successful their last-eight last against the Saudi club.

Key defender Rene returns to the nine from suspension and is expected to reclaim his spot successful the starting XI astatine the disbursal of Gabriel Fuentes, whom manager Renato Gaucho mightiness redeploy successful an attacking midfield relation against Chelsea.

Talisman Jhon Arias should again pb Fluminense’s guardant line.

Central midfielder Otavio was a pretournament scratching aft suffering a season-ending Achilles tendon teardrop successful May.

Possible lineups:

Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Tosin, Chalobah, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Nkunku; Pedro

Fluminense: Fabio; Ignacio, Silva, Rene; Xavier, Hercules, Bernal, Nonato, Fuentes; Arias, Cano

What the coaches had to say

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said: “I watched immoderate games that they [Fluminense] person played. And you tin spot that they are precise well-organised. They person immoderate precise bully players. The manager [Gaucho] is doing a fantastic job.”

“And again, it volition beryllium the aforesaid [in the semi] final. The vigor from the Brazilian squad successful this contention has been precocious … Probably … due to the fact that you are starting present the season, portion we are finishing the season. So, the vigor is normal. It is different. And we effort to woody with that successful a antithetic way.”

Renato Gaucho, who has helped Fluminense defy the likelihood to sound retired Champions League runners-up Inter Milan successful the past 16 and Al Hilal successful the quarterfinals, spoke aft his broadside qualified for the semifinal against Chelsea.

“It is different measurement forward, acknowledgment to everyone’s efforts. Participating successful the Club World Cup is simply a unsocial accidental … We bash not cognize erstwhile we volition person the accidental to enactment again. I dedicate this qualification [victory implicit Al Hilal] to our fans, and I ideate the fantastic ambiance successful Rio de Janeiro, conscionable arsenic it was fantastic present successful the stadium, it was a deserved victory.”