Chelsea halts Fluminense's run in Club World Cup semifinal
Chelsea's João Pedro, left, and Enzo Fernandez (8) celebrate after Pedro scored his side's second goal during a Club World Cup semifinal against Fluminense in East Rutherford, N.J., on Tuesday. Credit: AP
FIFA’s Club World Cup was billed as a test of top professional teams from across the globe. But in the end, the final will feature two familiar brand names from Europe.
Chelsea, a storied English club, defeated Fluminense of Brazil, 2-0, in the first semifinal on Tuesday at MetLife Stadium and advanced to meet the winner of Wednesday’s 3 p.m. semifinal between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s final at MetLife.
Both Chelsea goals were scored by Joao Pedro, a Brazilian whose first start for Chelsea happened to be against the club team he joined as a teenager.
Pedro said later the transition has been smooth. “They make it easy for me to adapt the way I play,” he said.
Out of respect to the club that raised him, Pedro did not celebrate his goals.
“It’s simple,” he said. “When I was young, I didn’t have nothing. They gave everything to me. They showed me the world. If I’m here, it’s because they believed in me. I’m very grateful. But this is football. I have to be professional. I feel sorry for them, but I have to do my job.”
Fluminense coach Renato Gauch said, “I think that out of respect for fans of our team, he decided not to celebrate. I personally felt that was very nice of him.”
The Brazilian teams acquitted themselves well in the Club World Cup, with Fluminense’s semifinal berth topping them all. But it was not enough.
None of this comes as a surprise, but it does confirm the obvious: That competing with the resources of Europe’s soccer powers is not easy for the rest of the world.
Gaucho noted that Brazil has been sending its players off to high-paying European teams for decades, and that it is just the way of the world.
But he said he was proud of how well the Brazilian teams did in this tournament.
“I think we gained credibility in a very strong way for Brazilian football,” he said through an interpreter. “When it comes to Europe, I hope that not only the rest of the world but Brazil as well can now look at Brazil in a different way and appreciate them even more.”
As for the business end of soccer, he said, “It doesn’t make sense for Brazil to try to compete against European clubs in terms of finances . . . For any team in Brazil, that’s not feasible, so it doesn’t make sense to compete that way. Brazilian clubs train players and sell them.”
Europe already has its Champions League for club teams, so Sunday’s all-Europe final will be ammunition for those who regard this tournament as unnecessary.
But it has served some purposes, including giving fans in North America access to world-class soccer and providing a test run for next summer’s FIFA World Cup featuring national teams, which will be a far bigger event than the current one.
One potential issue: heat.
The temperature at kickoff was 95 degrees, with stifling humidity. There could be more of the same next year as FIFA seeks to start big games in mid-afternoon here to service prime time audiences in Europe.
(The 2026 World Cup final will be played at MetLife on July 19.)
Another source of debate: The quality of the temporary grass field at MetLife. Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac on Saturday compared it to a “putting green,” and he did not mean that as a compliment.
Tuesday’s semifinal was the less attractive of the two on the dynamic ticket market that FIFA is using for the event, and prices bottomed out on Saturday night at a shocking $13.40.
But while there were plenty of empty seats in the stadium – perhaps owing to the heat – MetLife was more full than not. Official attendance was 70,556.
Chelsea dominated play early, scoring in the 18th minute on a brilliant goal by Pedro, who shot into the upper right corner of the goal from the left side outside the box.
Fluminense nearly tied it a few minutes later, but defender Marc Cucurella saved a shot by Hercules on the goal line.
Fluminense almost got another chance later in the half when Trevoh Chalobah was called for a handball inside the penalty area, which would have resulted in a penalty shot.
But the ruling was overturned after a video review. Gaucho said he disagreed with the call.
So it went for the Brazilian side, whose fans were energetic, many waving Hungarian flags because that country’s colors match those of Fluminense.
Pedro made it 2-0 in the 56th minute with another stylish goal. He maneuvered between two defenders and scored on a ball that bounded off the crossbar and over the line.
Pedro was removed in the 60th minute. His work was done.
Said Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, “We are just so proud to be back where the club deserves to be.”
Spoken like a true European soccer man.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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