The 2025 Club World Cup came to a dramatic climax on Sunday when Chelsea and PSG contested the final in New Jersey, as Blues star Cole Palmer cut open the Paris defence twice, and the Londoners ran out 3-0 winners at a packed MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
It was something of a shock to see Luis Enrique’s European champions dismantled in such a brutal way, but nobody was surprised that two of Europe’s powerhouses made it to the last two. But that was certainly not the story of the tournament as the big-name sides from the likes of the Premier League and Serie A didn’t have it all their way, and teams from South America and the Middle East reached a wider fan base.
Brazilian club Fluminense was a case in point, making its fair share of Club World Cup 2025 highlights and springing one of the big surprises when they beat Champions League runners-up Inter Milan. Fluminense are captained by the evergreen Thiago Silva, formerly of AC Milan, PSG, and Chelsea. The centre-back and Selecao legend made his name at Fluminense between 2007 and 2009 as a cultured operator who can play at centre-back or in a defencive midfield role, and he came to the notice of I Rossoneri as his glittering European career began.
A Serie A winner and Ligue 1 champion, Thiago won the Champions League with Chelsea and has represented Brazil 113 times, instilling his winning mentality into the current Fluminense group. Manager Renato Gaucho has leaders all over the pitch, with 44-year-old goalkeeper Fabio backing up a tight defence, which was pivotal in Fluminense’s success as, against the SBOTOP Club World Cup 2025 betting odds, the Flu reached the semi-finals, picking up a handy cash prize as well as many more fans worldwide.
Two 0-0 draws at the group stage against Mamelodi and Borussia Dortmund showed just how well organised the Fluminense defence was, while a 4-2 win over HD Ulsan displayed an attacking side to Gaucho’s team. And, after impressing against 2024 Champions League runners-up BVB, Fluminense went one step further against Inter Milan in the Round of 16, running out with a clinical 2-0 win to stun I Nerazzurri and make fans of other teams sit up and take notice.
It was another experienced campaigner, the 37-year-old Argentine striker German Cano, who nipped in to open the scoring against Inter Milan. Cano is a superb poacher with 72 goals in 145 games for the Flu, and he continued to probe the Inter defence while the Italian giants tried, unsuccessfully, to beat Fabio at the other end while crashing the woodwork from time to time.
And Fluminense rode their luck to get the win they richly deserved as super-sub Hercules broke through deep into injury time to smash home the second and send the Brazilian fans into ecstasy.
Also in the Round of 16, another of the pre-tournament favourites, Manchester City, came a cropper as they were beaten by Simone Inzaghi’s Al-Hilal, and that set up a mouthwatering quarter-final between the mega-rich Saudis and the Flu.
And it was Hercules again who climbed off the bench to win the day after a ding-dong battle saw the teams enter the late stages of the game, tied at 1-1. Midfield ace Matheus Martinelli gave Fluminense a lead with a brilliant goal, turning smartly with his back to goal and sweeping the ball home. Al Hilal’s in-form striker Marcos Leonardo levelled for Inzaghi’s team, but Hercules powered through again to send the Brazilians into the semi-finals.
A semi-final clash with Chelsea, after Enzo Maresca’s Blues had beaten Palmeiras 2-1, turned out to be a step too far for Gaucho’s brave fighters as their former academy player and new Chelsea recruit, Joao Pedro, ended their run with a brilliantly taken brace. It was a stark reminder that most of South America’s best young talents head off to Europe to seek fame and fortune, leaving their boyhood club to work with young hopefuls and experienced but aging stars. Fluminense are four-time winners of the Brazil Serie A, and they were Club World Cup runners-up in 2023, losing to Manchester City in the Saudi-based final, so this 2025 run was no flash in the pan. They may not have the riches of the European or Saudi-based top-flights. But in the Flu, the Brazilian league has a team to be proud of and one which can show, with that Samba flair and a heap of passion, that they are a match for almost anyone.
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