Joao Pedro fires Chelsea into Club World Cup final

Joao Pedro scored twice against his former club as Chelsea reached the FIFA Club World Cup final on Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Fluminense.

Less than a week after joining Chelsea from Brighton & Hove Albion, Pedro struck either side of halftime to set up a meeting with either Real Madrid or reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday's final.

Pedro Neto (R) of Chelsea breaks through during the semifinal match between Fluminense FC (Brazil) and Chelsea FC (England) at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 at the MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, the United States, July 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ming)

The game ended on a worrying note for Chelsea after midfielder Moises Caicedo limped off with an ankle injury.

Both sides began with high intensity at MetLife Stadium despite the temperature reaching 35 degrees Celsius at kickoff.

Chelsea dominated the early stages and got its reward in the 18th minute when Pedro Neto's cross into the box was cleared straight to Pedro, who curled a shot into the far corner.

Malo Gusto almost doubled the lead moments later, winning a header in the box but directing his effort straight at goalkeeper Fabio.

Fluminense had its best scoring chance of the first half when Hercules beat goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to the ball and fired a shot that was hooked away on the line by Marc Cucurella.

The Brazilian outfit then had a penalty for a Trevoh Chalobah handball overturned after the referee reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor and ruled the defender's arm was in a natural position.

Chelsea regained the initiative after halftime as Caicedo and Cucurella both went close with shots from distance.

Pedro scored his team's second goal in the 56th minute, cutting inside on the counterattack before lashing a drive that bounced in off the underside of the bar.

Fluminense looked deflated as Chelsea continued to press forward in the oppressive conditions.

Gusto's long-range attempt narrowly missed the top-right corner and substitute Nicolas Jackson sent an angled shot into the side-netting when Cole Palmer was free inside the six-yard box.

Playing against his former club, 40-year-old defender Thiago Silva was arguably Fluminense's best player, blocking and repelling a number of Chelsea attacks.

His clearing header from a Cucurella cross in the 75th minute almost certainly denied the Premier League club a third goal.

Fluminense pushed to get back into the match but struggled to break down Chelsea's organized defense. Substitute Keno almost broke the English team's resistance in the final minutes, steering a header wide after beating Reece James in the air.