Multiple Contributors
Jul 14, 2025, 02:18 PM
Open Extended Reactions
So, the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is over, with Chelsea crowned champions after thumping Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in Sunday's showpiece final. What did we think of the competition overall after an exhausting month of heat, travel and matches? Did the atmosphere (good at times, underwhelming at others) come close to meeting expectations, or does FIFA president Gianni Infantino have work to do if this tournament's going to be a long-term success?
As the confetti is cleared from MetLife Stadium, our reporters who covered the competition chime in with their final thoughts on the good, bad and ugly.
Final impressions: On a scale of 1-10 (1 being the worst, 10 being the best), what would you rate the 2025 CWC, and why?
Mark Ogden: Let's be positive. The football has been good, the noise and colour of the Brazil and Argentina supporters has really brought the tournament to life and eventually, the crowd numbers were at levels that FIFA would have wanted. Also, and this is important, the best team in the world -- PSG -- brought their A-game and really showcased the game and their quality to the audience in the U.S.
On the downside, 32 teams in the competition is too many, and that isn't a dig at sides such as Auckland City, Urawa Red Diamonds or Ulsan HD, who earned one point between them -- it's also about the likes of FC Salzburg, who really had no right to be at the tournament. But overall, weather issues aside, it has been a positive first attempt at the competition. RATING: 6/10
Lizzy Becherano: The Club World Cup somewhat exceeded my expectations after watching teams take the competition seriously and dedicated fans filling most stadiums. Like many, I worried that the top teams would treat the competition like a series of preseason friendlies, playing lackluster football inside empty stadiums. Now, I am glad to look back at the tournament and be proven wrong to a certain extent. The tournament gave us moments of great football, with the excitement of watching underdogs take on the European greats.
There are still too many aspects of the Club World Cup to improve, however, in order for this tournament to truly be seen as successful rather than just an opportunity for more games. RATING: 6/10
Editor's Picks
2 Related
Rob Dawson: It wasn't perfect, but it was a largely positive first edition of the expanded Club World Cup. There were some good games, shock results, drama and talking points. Most importantly, the fans showed up. The majority of the matches were well-attended and the South American fans brought the color and noise. The big European teams took it seriously, but -- crucially -- they didn't have it all their own way. Fluminense and Al Hilal showed exactly why the idea of a Club World Cup is valid.
As long as lessons are learned in terms of ticket pricing, travel and the timing of the tournament, there's every chance it could thrive going forward. RATING: 7/10
Gab Marcotti: It has been said time and again, but it's the first of its kind, it came about for self-serving reasons, staging a tournament in the U.S. in the summer isn't straight forward and we really had no clue what success would look like. Now at least we know the rest of the world can take on UEFA's big boys without embarrassing themselves.
We know there's genuine passion and interest, at least from fans of teams participating. That's a step forward, though there's a lot yet to be done. RATING: 7/10
James Olley: Somewhere in the middle of this bloated, ego-driven tournament is a good idea trying to emerge. FIFA's attempt to force this on the world at an accelerated pace rather than growing the competition more steadily over time -- it would have been a 24-team format in 2021 had the COVID pandemic not disrupted the calendar -- led to a version that was often difficult to like. The summer environment in the U.S. -- most obviously the weather but also the saturated domestic sports market -- made it tough for the competition to find a natural home. That said, there were positive elements that give it a platform on which to build.
The Brazilian teams added real flair and an edge to matches given their desire to challenge Europe's dominance. The support those teams enjoyed, along with the Argentine sides and Wydad AC of Tunisia, brought color and vibrancy to games. And nobody who saw the angry scenes after Chelsea's victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the final can saw the players didn't care. But no matter how many times FIFA president Gianni Infantino says it is "already the most successful club competition in the world," it doesn't actually make it so. Any competition has to earn that right, and the Club World Cup still has some way to go. RATING: 5/10
Chelsea's tournament win capped an up-and-down competition for FIFA, one that provided plenty of memorable moments both good and bad. Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images
Alex Kirkland: We got some entertaining games, some great goals, some big crowds, and enough memorable moments that made you feel like this tournament was delivering on its premise: a truly global competition, bringing the best of world football -- Europe's elite teams, South America's passionate fans, giants being humbled, and underdogs being celebrated -- together in one place.
But there were really significant problems with the match-going experience for supporters, and concerns over player welfare, both largely due to the heat and the scheduling. It's also a tournament that was greeted with complete indifference by many football fans around the world. Dspite those issues, it went as well as could have been expected and, as a journalist covering the event, it was really quite fun. RATING: 6/10
Team that surprised you (good or bad)
Ogden: Fluminense are the obvious one when you consider how much the struggled in the Brazilian league last season. To reach the semifinal was an achievement, even though they were easily beaten by Chelsea thanks to two goals from João Pedro.
Al Hilal also made an impact, striking a blow for the Saudi Pro League by reaching the quarterfinals after eliminating Manchester City in the round of 16. That was probably the shock of the tournament and, from FIFA's perspective, the kind of result that offered them complete vindication for opening it up to more teams from across the world.
And let's give some love to Inter Miami too, even though their place in the competition was controversially awarded by FIFA president Infantino. They reached the knockout stage and gave us a couple of magic moments from Lionel Messi, so they rose to the occasion.
play
1:36
Leboeuf: Club World Cup final loss doesn't erase PSG's season
Frank Leboeuf assesses PSG's season after their 3-0 loss to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final.
Becherano: FC Porto entered the Club World Cup as the favorites to top Group A and likely triumph over Inter Miami, Palmeiras and Al Ahly to advance to the round of 16 with three victories. Instead, the team struggled tremendously, going from favorites to failures quickly.
I expected a tough match between Porto and Palmeiras, even some difficulty for the European team to beat Inter Miami, but I never could have imagined the club letting in four goals from Al Ahly to conclude the competition with a 4-4 draw.
Dawson: Manchester City. The win over Juventus in their final group game felt like a big statement, as Pep Guardiola picked a strong team and City played really well against a good side.
At that point, the bracket had opened up and they could plot a manageable path to New York and the semifinals. But that was until they ran into Al Hilal, with the second half bringing back memories of everything that was wrong last season. It was chaotic and ragged and, in the end, City got what they deserved. It was a big surprise they didn't get further.
Marcotti: Maybe it's the fact that I watched them twice in person, or maybe it's the fact that their fans raised the roof everywhere they went. But Flamengo stood out -- not just for the passion of their supporters (a cliche at this point, what else do you expect from the best supported club in Brazil), but for what they showed on the pitch, starting from their 3-1 victory over future world champions, Chelsea.
Boasting plenty of experience, tactical nous and tons of confidence, they honored the jersey once worn by Zico.
play
1:30
FC crew slam 'unacceptable' outburst from Enrique after Club World Cup final
The ESPN FC crew react to the scenes between Luis Enrique and the Chelsea squad after the Club World Cup final.
Olley: It has to be Chelsea. They arrived at the tournament having quietened (but not silenced) doubts over manager Enzo Maresca, with some supporters questioning his style of play despite qualifying for the Champions League and winning the Europa Conference League. They depart with a second trophy, validation of his approach, a promising start made by several new signings and a prize-money pot worth at least £97m.
The indifference many have shown towards the Club World Cup may mean the afterglow from victory may not last as long as more conventional successes, but Maresca starts next season from a renewed position of strength. Moreover, this young group should now possess genuine belief they can go and challenge for the honors that matter most, having put PSG to the sword in such an impressive way.
Alex Kirkland: It ended up being Chelsea, given how incredibly and unexpectedly well they performed in the final on Sunday, but before that: Atletico Madrid. Going into the tournament I genuinely thought they had a chance of progressing to the latter stages, given some key players -- like Julián Álvarez and Alexander Sorloth -- who'd been in really good form towards the end of the domestic season. In a short-form competition, I backed them to go on a run. And then they lost 4-0 to PSG in their opening game.
Even two subsequent wins against Seattle Sounders and Botafogo weren't enough to see them go through to the round of 16, and that was bad luck, but it was a disappointing and premature departure, nonetheless.
Best moment
Boca Juniors' traveling support was a major highlight, though all the teams outside Europe arrived at the Club World Cup with tons of fans, energy and atmosphere. Carmen Mandato - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Ogden: The best moment for me, by far, was the video of Cole Palmer riding around Times Square on an e-scooter on the Friday night before the Club World Cup final.
Chelsea have given their players room to breathe during their month in the U.S. because, at the same time as taking the competition seriously, they have also accepted that this tournament is taking place at a time when most players are on holiday or enjoying downtime ahead of the new season. Too often, clubs or international teams lock their players away in remote hotels or training bases and expect them to focus solely on football. But Chelsea have taken a grown-up approach during the Club World Cup and the image of Palmer riding through the crowds, while a huge image of him was on the digital screens in Times Square, was funny. It was also proof that footballers also have a life away from the game.
Becherano: I was most impressed by the traveling fans throughout the first stage of the Club World Cup, with the Boca Juniors fans deserving a shoutout of their own. The entire group took over the city of Miami, from the beaches to the stands inside Hard Rock Stadium, bringing Buenos Aires to the streets of South Florida.
One of the best moments of the tournament came after the goal Miguel Merentiel scored in the second half of the match against Bayern Munich, not because of the actual strike but the scenes that followed. The goal inspired the entire stadium to erupt in chaos making the press box tremble as supporters jumped and chanted in unison. For a brief moment, Boca Juniors fans truly believed they would win against Bayern, and the atmosphere reflected it.
play
1:00
Nicol: Complaints about heat shows nobody respects the Club World Cup
Steve Nicol believes there would be no complaints about the weather if it was the World Cup.
Dawson: Either Botafogo beating Paris Saint-Germain, or Flamengo beating Chelsea. It's nothing against PSG or Chelsea -- both deserved to reach the final -- but those results are exactly what a Club World Cup should be about. It would have been boring if the UEFA teams had blitzed everyone else.
The knockout rounds turning into a less-exciting version of the Champions League would not have suited anyone -- fans or FIFA. Botafogo and Flamengo scoring those early wins for South America against European heavyweights was proof that the premise of the tournament is sound. It just needs some tweaks and a viable place in the calendar.
Marcotti: Wessam Abou Ali's hat trick against Porto. It finished 4-4 and turned out to be irrelevant for both clubs given that both sides went home early, but the Danish-born, Palestinian striker stole the show. The forward is on his way to becoming a legend in Egypt at Al Ahly, and the entire Arab world is cheering him on.
Olley: Messi's free kick against Porto. Again, you have to park the cynical construction that led to this moment, with Inter Miami crowbarred into the tournament just so Messi could help sell tickets. Yet watching the 38-year-old bend in a superb match-winning free kick was still a heartwarming moment of endurance and longevity from arguably the game's greatest-ever player.
FIFA got its viral moment for social media; the world got a reminder that Messi is still capable of getting you off your seat.
Kirkland: Thibaut Courtois' 99th-minute save for Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund, clawing away Marcel Sabitzer's near-perfect shot to preserve Madrid's 3-2 lead in the quarterfinals. It was one of those saves that got better with every replay you watched, and every fresh angle you saw. The fact that it was the decisive, last touch of the game, after a frantic finale that had three goals and a red card in added time -- a bizarre ending to an otherwise serene Madrid performance -- made it even better.
This is what makes a truly great goalkeeper: doing absolutely nothing, all game, and then, when it really matters, producing that.
Worst moment
Ogden: This is not really a moment, but the overall negative from the Club World Cup has been the weather, with disruptions caused by storms and issues that players, and supporters, have had to overcome with the heat during games. Any tournament played in a northern hemisphere summer will have heat issues -- Germany was very hot during Euro 2024 -- but the conditions in the United States during June and July have been so difficult at times that it has opened up a big conversation about how the 2026 Men's World Cup will be staged next year.
The heat and some challenging kick-off times meant that attendance was also an issue at the Club World Cup, especially in the early days of the competition. Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Infantino appeared to make a significant concession by saying that more daytime games will now be staged at stadiums with roofs at the World Cup, but kickoff times still to be finalized and with some games likely to be midday starts next year, we will only discover if lessons have truly been learned when those games are allocated venues and kickoff times.
Becherano: Hard Rock Stadium played host to several exciting moments of the Club World Cup, with Boca Juniors fans turning the venue into La Bombonera North, a great goal by Luis Suárez and celebrations from Mamelodi Sundowns fans. But as always, the problem with the stadium is not the action on the pitch, but the journey to that front gate. There were confusing instructions to find the entrance, miscommunication among staff on safety measures, and countless streets shut down to make the traffic into the media parking unbearable.
THE FC 100, 2024-25
With the 2024-25 season officially over, it's time to rank the top 100 players in the world of men's soccer right now. Welcome to the FC 100. Read the full list here.
FIFA once made public transportation a requirement for cities and venues in order to submit a bid to host an official match or a World Cup, but the principle seems like a lost idea here. There are no public options available to reach the stadium, forcing fans and outlets to use Ubers, private cars or chartered buses, making the experience a nightmare for all.
Dawson: Watching Rúben Neves and João Cancelo break down during the tribute to Diogo Jota ahead of Al Hilal's quarterfinal against Fluminense. They were international teammates, and Neves -- who was also his club teammate at Wolves -- counted Jota as one of his closest friends. The pair found out about Jota's passing on that Thursday, and played a match less than 24 hours later.
To watch Neves and Cancelo in tears as his picture, along with brother André Silva, flashed up on the big screens at Camping World Stadium was heartbreaking. It was a reminder of how unimportant football can be.
Marcotti: The weather delays that turned Chelsea vs. Benfica into a four-hour slog that felt interminable. I get it, "safety first," but there are lessons to be learned here and if certain venues at certain times are at greater risk of this sort of thing, then we may need a rethink.
play
0:37
Hutchison: 'You can't fault Donnarumma' for Musiala injury
Gab Marcotti and Don Hutchison debate whether Donnarumma was at fault for Musiala's injury in the Club World Cup.
Olley: Jamal Musiala's injury, to the extent that you wonder what has to happen for the debate about player welfare to actually change anything. Musiala's awful broken leg vs. PSG was the consequence of the type of challenge that could have happened at any time -- fatigue didn't appear an obvious factor -- but asking players to keep going for 11 months of the year is putting an excessive strain on the game's elite. It is a relief that there weren't more serious injuries.
The ongoing enmity between FIFA and UEFA make compromises thin on the ground, but the game is heading, almost inexorably, towards becoming an all-year round enterprise. That feels unsustainable but, once again, nobody in a position of power is listening.
Kirkland: Sunday's final offered several contenders -- from PSG's undignified reaction to defeat, to the awkwardly handled trophy presentation -- but for me, the worst moment came much earlier in the tournament: speaking to a fan and his excited young family, pre-match at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena ahead of PSG vs. Atletico Madrid, and then hearing from them subsequently that the game had, in fact, turned into a really quite unpleasant ordeal, with the midday heat forcing them to abandon their seats for much of the second half.
If you've paid hundreds of dollars for tickets, the least you should expect is to be able to enjoy the experience in relative comfort.
If you were in charge for a day, what's one big thing you would change for the next Club World Cup?
Ogden: I'd have a smaller tournament, maybe 24 teams, and ensure that those involved really are the best in their Confederation. This Club World Cup has taken place without the reigning champions of England (Liverpool), Spain (Barcelona) Italy (Napoli) and Argentina (Velez Sarsfield), at the same time as including Chelsea -- who qualified as 2021 Champions League winners -- and Salzburg who have, quite frankly, done nothing outside the Austrian Bundesliga and aren't even the current champions (hello, Sturm Graz.)
Balance it out and find a way to have teams from South America who aren't just from Brazil and Argentina. Ultimately, FIFA needs to come up with more convincing, and equitable, qualifying criteria.
play
1:41
Leboeuf: Kylian Mbappé 'needs to wake up' at Real Madrid
Frank Leboeuf criticises Kylian Mbappé's work rate at Real Madrid following their 4-0 Club World Cup semifinal loss to PSG.
Becherano: Without a doubt, kick-off times for most matches need to be pushed back until after sunset. FIFA's decision to schedule a noon or 3 p.m. kick off at Hard Rock Stadium in the middle of summer will continue to be shocking. I understand the need to make football accessible to those watching in Europe or Asia, but not enough to consider risking a player's wellbeing by ordering a match to be played under the scorching Florida sun and humidity. Unless the venue boasts a roof, no game can or should be played before 7.30 p.m. local time.
Beyond the obvious safety and health concerns, one could also argue that no one plays their best under such conditions in Miami, Florida. Players often must conserve energy and lower paces to prioritize consistency and durability throughout the 90-minute matches. Coaches complained that players asked to be substituted out due to heat-induced exhaustion and cramps. How can officials expect the tournament to thrive if players are not given the proper conditions to play?
Dawson: Have a completely open draw. FIFA decided to go straight to 32 teams, so can't then row back and make it a 16-team competition (which it should have been in the first place.) An open draw should -- in theory -- increase the probability of bigger games in the group stages; the knockout games were good, but it felt like the tournament took a while to get going.
Pitching more of the heavyweights against each other early on would kickstart things a lot earlier. You could also have a couple of incredibly tough groups with some real jeopardy before the round of 16.
play
0:34
The best of 'Ref Cam' from the 2025 Club World Cup
Catch the best bits of the footage captured on body cameras worn by referees at the Club World Cup.
Marcotti: Expectations. Let's face it, FIFA felt it needed to promise mega prize money to get some of the European heavyweights on board and because the competition was in its infancy, it became tough to sell. FIFA had no clue what size of stadiums to use, how to price (and sell) the tickets, and struggled to sell broadcast and sponsorship rights (hence why we ended up with DAZN and last-ditch commercial deals.)
Let this summer show you don't need to go big from day one. Let the competition grow and, if it attracts enough eyeballs, the big clubs will want to be there, and so will the sponsors.
Olley: Reduce it to 16 teams. It'll never happen now, obviously -- money dictates that, if anything, they'll try and expand it to 48 teams to mirror the new international format. But a tighter version would be an easier sell globally and fewer games would place less of a demand on players who are already overworked.
Related to this, reduce the travel required. There is always a balancing act in terms of taking teams around a country, but limiting the logistical demands and the sheer scale of the U.S. doesn't help in that regard, but nevertheless, the balance wasn't right this time.
Kirkland: It might be a very Anglo-centric point, but I can't help but feel that for the tournament to have real widespread breakthrough appeal, FIFA must find a way to ensure that the biggest Premier League teams in terms of support and online engagement -- Manchester United, or Liverpool, or Arsenal -- are involved. It also hurt the competition's credibility that some of the best sides in the world on current form -- Liverpool again, or Barcelona, or Napoli -- were not included, even if the qualification criteria and logistics made that impossible.
It would be no surprise at all if FIFA somehow found a way to remedy both those challenges in time for 2029.