The FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinal between England’s Chelsea and Brazil’s Palmeiras in Philadelphia on Friday will be a blast from the past.
It is the first meeting between the clubs since Chelsea defeated Palmeiras 2-1 in extra time in the final of the 2021 Intercontinental Cup, a previous version of the Club World Cup.
Palmeiras has five starters remaining from that match, including goalkeeper Weverton. Chelsea has two holdovers but neither Reece James nor Trevoh Chalobah played.
What spikes the international flavor of the match is that Palmeiras has a Brazilian player who will join Chelsea after the tournament while Chelsea added a Brazilian who was not on the roster when the Club World Cup began.
Chelsea on Wednesday confirmed the signing of striker Joao Pedro from the Premier League’s Brighton & Hove Albion. He is immediately eligible because FIFA allowed a special transfer window outside the normal summer transfer period for all Club World Cup participants.
Pedro had 10 goals and six assists for Brighton this past season.
“They had brilliant players in the past and have brilliant players now,” Pedro said in a release. “So, I am excited to join and you know when you are a Chelsea player you must think one thing — win.”
If he plays, Pedro could be facing a future teammate in Estevao, who was 17 when he reached a verbal agreement with Chelsea in May 2024. He could not legally move to England until after his 18th birthday on April 24, so his transfer could not be formalized until now and it has been reported that Chelsea did not stand in the way of him staying with Palmeiras through their Club World Cup run.
“I have to focus here, I have to work, but it’s not easy,” Estevao said earlier in the tournament. “The closer it gets, the more anxiety sets in. But I’m trying to focus here, to leave (Palmeiras) in the right way.”
The sentiment created a backlash among Brazilian media and fans who felt Estevao’s loyalties weren’t with his current club.
Chelsea will be without midfielder Moises Caicedo (yellow card accumulation) while Palmeiras will be missing defender and captain Gustavo Gomez (red card).
The winner plays Brazil’s Fluminense or Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in a semifinal in East Rutherford, N.J., on Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
