Club World Cup: Palmeiras beat Botafogo, Chelsea thrash Benfica to set up quarterfinal clash

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New Delhi: Palmeiras and Chelsea became the first two sides to seal a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 quarterfinals. The Brazilian side defeated their rival Botafogo in the round of 16 match at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday.

Both teams failed to score goals in the regulation time, with an extra 30 minutes required to determine which team would qualify for the quarterfinals of the tournament. But Paulinho’s match-winning goal in the 100th minute helped Palmeiras to advance to the next stage.

Palmeiras and Botafogo had an impressive campaign in the group stage, and a close game was expected between both sides. Both teams had their moments in the regulation time, but failed to grab the opportunities. Paulinho spotted the space and made his way into the Botafogo penalty box and then picked out the bottom corner of the net to spark stunning scenes among Palmeiras supporters.

The goal made Palmeiras the first quarterfinalist of the Club World Cup and set up a clash against Chelsea on July 5, who defeated Benfica later that night.

Benfica 1-4 Chelsea

Chelsea defeated Benfica by 4-1 in the knockout match of the Club World Cup at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, to seal a place in the quarterfinal. The Premier League side took the initial lead in the match through Reece James’ goal in the 64th minute. The match was stopped in the 86th minute for nearly two hours due to the bad weather. When play started, Benfica scored an equaliser deep into stoppage time.

Malo Gusto was penalised for handball, and Angel Di Maria calmly slotted a penalty in the 96th minute, but Chelsea responded quickly, taking full advantage of the 10-man Portuguese side in extra time. Nkunku netted the second goal for his team in the 108th minute after a chaotic sequence.

Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury also netted in the extra time to seal the victory for Chelsea. The Premier League side dominated the game statistically with a 22-8 shot advantage, including 12 on target.