Chelsea march on to CWC quarter-finals
Reece James (2-L, partially seen) of Chelsea celebrates with his teammates after scoring the 1-0 goal during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 match between SL Benfica and Chelsea FC in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, 28 June 2025. EPA/BRIAN WESTERHOLT
by Staff Reporter
Sunday Jun 29, 2025. 11:38
Nicolas Jackson’s Chelsea booked their place in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Club World Cup following a 4-1 win over 10-man Benfica after extra time at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Saturday, June 28.
The score was deadlocked at 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes after Angel Di Maria (90+5′) converted a last-gasp penalty to cancel out Reece James’ 64th-minute opener for the Blues before the Eagles suffered a setback with the dismissal of Gianluca Prestianni two minutes into extra time.
Christopher Nkunku (108′) soon made them pay when he restored the Premier League club’s lead and further goals from Pedro Neto (114′) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (117′) sealed the victory.
Enzo Maresca’s side will face Palmeiras in the last eight after the Big Green beat Brazilian rivals Botafogo 1-0 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia earlier that same day.
The Sao Paulo giants also needed extra time to emerge victorious, with Paulinho scoring the all-important goal on 100 minutes before they too were reduced to 10 men when Gustavo Gomez received his marching orders in the 116th minute.
In Sunday’s action, Achraf Hakimi’s Paris Saint-Germain will take on Inter Miami at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, while Inter Milan and Fluminense are set to clash at the Bank of America Stadium.
Hakimi recently helped PSG win their maiden UEFA Champions League title when he opened the scoring in a 5-0 rout in the final at the Allianz Arena in Munich on May 31.