Chelsea vs Benfica live: Latest team news and updates as Club World Cup knockout stages begin | OneFootball

Why Liam Delap Solves Chelsea's Biggest Problem

Chelsea and Benfica tussle for a quarter-final place as the Club World Cup knockout stages continue.

The expanded tournament has been beset with problem but the relative success of the South American sides has created some intriguing round of 16 encounters. Chelsea might have thought they were destined for a date with Bayern Munich when they suffered defeat to Flamengo but Benfica’s success against the Bundesliga winners instead meant they topped their group, setting up this clash in Charlotte.

Enzo Maresca would have been encouraged by how his weary squad bounced back from their loss, with Liam Delap on the scoresheet for the first time in a Chelsea shirt against ES Tunis. Benfica have plenty of experience within their ranks, including Angel Di Maria, who will return to boyhood club Rosario Central when the Portuguese side are knocked out of this tournament.

Chelsea vs Benfica

It’s positively roasting (again) in Charlotte, with handling the heat a key challenge for both sides today. There are a few fans in, a number of them in Chelsea shirts, but it’s not even close to full...

Harry Latham-Coyle28 June 2025 20:55

Club World Cup ‘the worst idea ever’, says Jurgen Klopp

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has criticised the revamped Club World Cup, calling it the “worst idea ever implemented in football”.

In an interview with German newspaper Die Welt, published on Friday, Klopp said the tournament would put more strain on an already packed calendar for the players.

The expanded format features a 32-team event held every four years during the pre-season, in the summers between major international tournaments.

“It's all about the game and not the surrounding events - and that's why the Club World Cup is the worst idea ever implemented in football in this regard,” he said.

“It's a pointless competition. Whoever wins it will be the worst winner of all time because they’ll have played all summer and then gone straight back into the league.

“There are people who have never been involved in the day-to-day business of football and are now coming up with ideas.”

Club World Cup ‘the worst idea ever’, says Jurgen Klopp

The former Liverpool manager has been among those to criticise the lack of rest for players in a bloated calendar

Luke Baker28 June 2025 20:52

The Chelsea-Man United swap deal that explains the transfer window’s latest trend

Swap deals that don’t make much footballing sense are becoming part and parcel of the Premier League when summer rolls around.

This isn’t an exposé on the dodgy activities of Premier League clubs, because everyone knows what’s going on at this point. It was bound to happen once financial regulations - namely the league’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) - were tightened. Balancing the books has become an increasingly integral motivation to transfer business, and if there’s a way to work the system via a loophole while abiding by the letter of the law, teams will take advantage.

The latest potential swap deal to provoke confused expressions involves Christopher Nkunku and Alejandro Garnacho.

One, a £52m Chelsea flop whose natural position on a football pitch remains all but unknown to Blues supporters; and the second, a Man United future superstar turned prima donna who can’t even hold down a starting place in Ruben Amorim’s hopeless first XI.

If ever a swap deal has looked like a lose-lose, it’s this one.

The Chelsea-Man United swap deal that explains the transfer window’s latest trend

Chelsea and Man United are exploring a swap deal for Christopher Nkunku and Alejandro Garnacho

Luke Baker28 June 2025 20:42

Today's venue

The Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina will host today’s last-16 clash.

With a capacity of 74,867, it’s normally home to NFL side Carolina Panthers and MLS side Charlotte FC.

(Getty Images)

Luke Baker28 June 2025 20:28

Borussia Dortmund exploring deal for Chelsea starlet Josh Acheampong

Borussia Dortmund are exploring a deal for Chelsea's Joshua Acheampong, among a number of clubs monitoring his situation.

The 19-year-old has been seen by the Stamford Bridge hierarchy as a prospect for the future, but the defender is known to want more first-team opportunities in order to progress.

There is now a belief among suitor clubs that Chelsea may be willing to do business for £35m, having previously rejected approaches - including loans.

Borussia Dortmund exploring deal for Chelsea starlet Josh Acheampong

There is a belief Chelsea may be willing to sell Acheampong for £35m

28 June 2025 20:15

Club World Cup 2025 prize money: What every team earns at Fifa’s lucrative new tournament

The 2025 Club World Cup’s revamped format will see a vast pot of prize money divvied out among its competitors.

The new 32-team summer tournament, the brainchild of Fifa president Gianni Infantino, is taking place in the United States over four weeks, featuring clubs all over the globe.

Premier League sides Manchester City and Chelsea, Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain, and fellow European giants Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are among the favourites to lift the trophy.

Whoever does will scoop up to £70m, via a combination of participation payments and performance bonuses.

Here is how the Club World Cup prize money breaks down:

Club World Cup 2025 prize money: What every team earns at the tournament

Fifa has put up a $1bn prize pot at its revamped tournament in the United States

Luke Baker28 June 2025 20:03

Team news - Chelsea

Chelsea welcome back Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto to the starting side in forward areas, while Reece James, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella take their places in the back four. Enzo Fernandez looks to have been given a more advanced role.

Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella; Lavia, Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Delap, Neto.

Harry Latham-Coyle28 June 2025 20:00

Team news - Benfica

A couple of midfield changes for Benfica as Florentino Luis and Orkun Kokcu come in.

Benfica XI: Trubin; Aursnes, Silva, Otamendi, Dahl; Florentino, Barreiro, Di Maria, Kokcu, Schjelderup; Pavlidis.

Harry Latham-Coyle28 June 2025 19:58

Benfica vs Chelsea prediction: Liam Delap to help Blues to edge last-16 tie

Chelsea may have lost to Flamengo but it is assumed that they will have more than enough quality to beat the Lisbon-based club, with football betting sites pricing Chelsea as 1/2 to qualify for the quarter-finals, versus odds of 6/4 for Benfica to go through.

We think that while a wager on Chelsea to win makes sense, the market on the win and both teams to score could offer better value, with betting sites offering that at around 11/4.

Read our full prediction here:

Luke Baker28 June 2025 19:40

Enzo Fernandez 'will be even better next season'

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca expects Enzo Fernandez to get even better as he prepares for a reunion with his former club Benfica.

The Argentina midfielder, signed from the Portuguese giants for a then British record £106.8m two years ago, took time to find his feet at Stamford Bridge.

But he excelled in the second half of the 2024-25 season, finishing the campaign with eight goals, and has continued to shine at the Club World Cup.

The 24-year-old scored in the opening win over Los Angeles FC and created two goals in as many minutes as the Blues beat Esperance Tunis 3-0 in their final group game on Tuesday.

Maresca said: “I’m very pleased with Enzo, especially because, first of all, he’s a nice boy. He’s polite, he’s a good boy.

“He is doing fantastic in terms of numbers, goal assists. This is what we want from our attacking players. I’ve said many times that I prefer to have the attacking players score 10-12 goal each, rather than just a striker with 40 goals.

“So his contribution this season has been top and I am sure next season will be even better.”

Luke Baker28 June 2025 19:32