What Did We Learn From the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup? | OneFootball

After some uncertainty and skepticism heading into the tournament, the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup ultimately delivered. But it wasn’t all perfect.

And so, the best club team in the world, according to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, is Chelsea. After a grueling month-long competition, it was Enzo Maresca’s side that survived a long European season and scorching summer heat to lift the trophy in New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.

For Todd Boehly, it was a major win and a feather in his cap. His ownership of Chelsea had been a dumpster fire until Maresca finally brought balance and silverware back to Stamford Bridge, with a UEFA Conference League title to go along with the Club World Cup triumph.

Chelsea’s commitment to young and dependable talent was key to their success throughout the tournament. The two goal scorers in the 3-0 final win over PSG, Cole Palmer and João Pedro, are both just 23 years old and highlight the club’s youth movement.

Enzo Fernández, Moisés Caicedo, and Pedro Neto — all born in the new millennium — are just a few more exciting young names that will make Chelsea a team to watch in 2025-26.

As surreal as it was to see President Donald Trump in the team photo as Chelsea lifted the trophy — and to hear Michael Buffer’s iconic “let’s get ready to rumble” to kick off the final — the Club World Cup was as thrilling as it was cringe-worthy at times. Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s president, force-fed us the expanded spectacle and left us wanting more. Hopefully, the powers that be have learned some valuable lessons.

Be Reasonable to Consumers

Buda Mendes/Getty Images

Ticket prices were all over the place — sky-high, bargain-basement, and everything in between. For FIFA, it was a huge wake-up call: American families don’t have bottomless pockets. Sure, fans will show up for semifinals, finals, and a few marquee matches, but if FIFA wants the 2026 World Cup to look like the sellout spectacle of 1994, they’ll need to strike the right balance for locals and tourists alike.

In South America, a flight from Buenos Aires to Miami can run as high as $1,500 per ticket. Add four or five World Cup match tickets, and a family of tourists may have already spent $10,000 before even stepping foot in the U.S.

American families love sports — but not at $350 for nosebleed seats. Keeping ticket prices reasonable will go a long way toward repeat business from locals and won’t scare off travelers.

Europeans Came to Play

Despite long domestic seasons, the incentive to win big prize money paid off for Infantino. Real Madrid, PSG, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich showed exactly why they’re global powerhouses with talent pools that make them the best in the world.

Despite complaints about pitches and temperatures, once you’re at the dance, you dance. For Infantino, the huge payday for players proved to be a strong motivator — even for stars who seem to already have it all.

The Brazilian League is For Real

If you live in Europe and want to watch a league outside UEFA’s bubble, look no further than Brazil. Without question the strongest league in the Americas, Brazilian teams have won the last six editions of the Copa Libertadores. National team-caliber Brazilian players mix with other internationals all over South America, and the big sponsorship dollars are starting to attract European attention as well.

Palmeiras, Fluminense, and Flamengo are excellent teams to follow, along with São Paulo, Internacional, and Grêmio.

Match Scheduling

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

FIFA must learn its lesson from 1994 and this Club World Cup: World Cup matches have no business being played at noon in July.

The United States is a huge country with reasonable time zones. If you want to offer fans the best experience, games should kick off between 7 p.m. and midnight Eastern time. As for European audiences — they’ll watch, just like South Americans tuned in to the Japan/Korea World Cup, which had kickoffs at 2 a.m. local time.

MLS: Still at the Kids’ Table

Alex Grimm/Getty Images

Major League Soccer got a rude awakening at the Club World Cup, with the three clubs representing the league earning just one win: Inter Miami over Porto.

The results were somewhat predictable: MLS sides were outclassed by their European counterparts. More worrying was how MLS teams struggled against top-tier sides from the Middle East.

MLS must decide if it wants to take this soccer thing seriously or just be popcorn entertainment for kids on a Saturday night.

Debunking Myths

The Club World Cup debunked plenty of myths — like the notion that South American clubs can’t hold their own against European opposition or that the Saudi Pro League is a joke.

Soccer is changing. Teams and leagues around the world are investing heavily in the sport. While Europe’s big clubs still dominate, there’s real competition out there. Teams from Saudi Arabia, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, and Egypt can build projects capable of competing with — and even beating — the best in Europe.

End the Americanisms

A played-out Michael Buffer and announcing starting lineups as if it’s the NBA simply don’t fit soccer — especially when the players walk onto the field looking confused about what to do.

In the NBA’s heyday, watching Michael Jordan come out while high-fiving his teammates under dim lighting, or seeing the nWo enter a wrestling ring to Buffer’s booming voice, could really hype up a crowd.

In soccer, it just doesn’t work. Players come out almost intimidated by the spectacle — and in the middle of the summer heat, no less. It makes the start of the game feel endless and cringe-worthy.

The Sad State of Argentine Soccer

MLS isn’t the only league that had a poor showing at the Club World Cup.

While River Plate and Boca Juniors fans were the best ambassadors for Argentine football throughout the tournament, their teams, sadly, were not. River Plate, despite a fantastic start, fizzled out and disappointed, exiting in the group stage.

Boca Juniors, on the other hand, couldn’t even beat semi-pro side Auckland City, a team that featured a school teacher among its amateurs. The Club World Cup was a low point for the Argentine league, which desperately wants to compete but has allowed its domestic competition to become an uncompetitive, boring mess.

Enter the Donald

Alex Grimm/Getty Images

FIFA and Donald Trump forged a strange alliance in the run-up to the Club World Cup — and that will be in full swing come the 2026 World Cup. FIFA is opening new offices in Trump Tower, and the American president made sure to be front and center during the trophy ceremony and halftime interview.

Like or hate them, Trump and Infantino are now in cahoots. What this means for soccer in the U.S. remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure: Trump might be in our soccer cereal a lot more as the countdown to 2026 begins.