7 h. ago Test your eyes by spotting the trophy hidden in the stadium for FIFA Club World Cup 2025

A new brainteaser is sweeping the internet which shows a football-inspired optical illusion - but you'll need to have sharp eyes to find the hidden trophy in 10 seconds

Politics

29 h. ago Is the Club World Cup a good addition to the football calendar?

Is the newly expanded tournament a waste of time or an interesting idea that brings the world together?There are plenty of reasons to be down on the Club World Cup. The players were already exhausted and overworked; its evolution into a 32-team tournament has been drive by a desire for profit; it has been played in temperatures that make football almost unbearable; the stadiums have often been half empty; and it has given Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino an opportunity to fluff their already inflated egos.But there is something to be said for a competition that brings together teams, and fans, from across the globe every four years. Supporters from around the world, especially Brazil, have lit up the show. And the underdogs have shown up. Flamengo stunned Chelsea; Botafogo shocked PSG; Al-Hilal sent Manchester City home. There have been great games, goals and performances, with PSG putting on a show for the ages in the semi-finals as they hammered Real Madrid. Continue reading...

Politics

43 h. ago Luis Enrique responds to PSG accusation after thrashing Real Madrid

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique says his team has more than answered its critics with its recent achievements

Politics

47 h. ago Club World Cup 2025: Results, fixtures and how to watch final for free

Chelsea and PSG meet with world champion status on the line

Politics

48 h. ago Club World Cup 2025 prize money: How much will Chelsea earn if they win the tournament?

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

Society

63 h. ago Mbappé gets stuck in Dembélé’s shadow in Real Madrid’s shapeless shambles | Jacob Steinberg

PSG’s Club World Cup demolition was further proof that perhaps Real Madrid signed the wrong French forwardThe first drinks break was unplanned. It came six minutes ahead of schedule, but Real Madrid were grateful for the respite. They wandered to the touchline, dazed and confused, and reached for the water bottles. They looked to Xabi Alonso and hoped for answers. After 24 minutes of being pummelled by Paris Saint-Germain, though, the thought occurred that the players in white would have been better off asking for smelling salts.It is never a good sign when the emergency team talk takes place with more than an hour left. PSG had just stormed into a 3-0 lead, Fabián Ruiz scoring his second after a stunning combination between the exceptional Ousmane Dembélé and the flying Achraf Hakimi on the right, and to be honest the scoreline felt kind on Madrid. The New Jersey sun was beating down but PSG were merciless. Lads, it’s 33C. Any chance of slowing down? Continue reading...

Politics

64 h. ago PSG cruise to Club World Cup final after Ruiz and Dembélé stun Real Madrid

PSG 4-0 Real Madrid: Ruiz 6 24, Dembélé 9, Ramos 87Chelsea to play European champions in Sunday’s finalThere was a moment towards the end of Kylian Mbappé’s final season in France when Luis Enrique called him into his office and explained that if they did things his way, then Paris Saint-Germain could become an “absolute machine”.A little over a year later, on the day his first season at Real Madrid came to an end against his former club, the striker saw for himself, up close and painful, just how right his coach had been. The team that went to Munich and put five past Inter, the biggest winning margin a European Cup final has ever seen, came to New York and scored four against the game’s greatest aristocrats to take them to the final of the Club World Cup. Continue reading...

Politics

68 h. ago PSG XI vs Real Madrid: Confirmed team news, starting lineup, injury latest for Club World Cup semi

PSG are without suspended defensive duo for Club World Cup semi-final showdown

Events

68 h. ago Real Madrid XI vs PSG: Confirmed starting lineup, injury latest for Club World Cup semi

Los Blancos are without one of their summer signings due to suspension

Events

3 d. ago João Pedro sends Chelsea to Club World Cup final as stunners sink Fluminense

Fluminense 0-2 Chelsea (João Pedro 18, 56)New signing scores twice against boyhood clubThe talk was mostly about Enzo Maresca wanting to add more guile to his attack when Chelsea signed João Pedro last week. Less was made of the former Brighton forward’s ability to crash through an opposition defence. Then again Fluminense made João Pedro and were probably not surprised to find their former star in scintillating goalscoring form in this one-sided Club World Cup semi-final.Two thunderous finishes from the versatile attacker were enough to ensure that Chelsea will return to the MetLife Stadium to face Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid in Sunday’s final. They can make £97m in prize money from this tournament, which is probably just as well given their spending. Continue reading...

Sport

3 d. ago Chelsea XI vs Fluminense: Starting lineup, confirmed team news, injury latest for Club World Cup semi

Enzo Maresca hands a start to Joao Pedro for first time in huge last-four showdown

Events

4 d. ago Revenge in the air as Kylian Mbappé and PSG clash in Club World Cup semi

Real Madrid forward faces former club amid legal war and bitterness, after watching PSG grab the glory he left to pursueThis is a tale of blackmail and revenge, or so it goes. Of power and money, lots of money. It is also a story of sport. The buildup to the semi-final of the Club World Cup between Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, those two empires and enemies, didn’t begin with a fitness update from Atlanta or Palm Beach; it began on Monday morning New York time with news from Paris that Kylian Mbappé had withdrawn a legal claim accusing his former club of extortion and harassment. Two days before kick-off, it was time for the football.Well, sort of. “The Real Madrid striker and his entourage want to calm the situation and concentrate exclusively on sporting issues,” L’Équipe reported. Definitely nothing to do with their prospects of winning the case, then. Besides, there is still the demand for €55m in allegedly unpaid wages and bonuses, which led to PSG’s accounts being momen...

Society

4 d. ago Chelsea XI vs Fluminense: Predicted lineup, confirmed team news, injury latest for Club World Cup semi

Enzo Maresca could start Joao Pedro for first time in huge last-four showdown

Events

4 d. ago Chelsea are favourites for final but they face a familiar foe in Thiago Silva

The 40-year-old has led Fluminense with experience and passion. Could he do the same for Brazil next summer?And then there was one. Nobody expected a Brazilian club to reach the Club World Cup semi-finals, and if any team was going to make a deep run in the tournament, it was not Fluminense. After winning the Copa Libertadores in 2023, they narrowly avoided relegation last year and have gone through four managers in less than two years.Thankfully for them, they are now coached by the charismatic Renato Gaúcho, who told us earlier in the tournament: “It’s no use having a team of 500 million reais, because football is decided on the field.” Throughout the tournament he has encouraged Brazilians to take pride in what their teams have achieved, despite being written off due to the wealth of the European sides. Continue reading...

Sport

4 d. ago João Pedro makes early mark for Chelsea but Blues forwards must avoid seeing red

New signing made a bright Club World Cup debut and now eyes Fluminense, one of his former sides, on TuesdayEstêvão Willian was not the only Brazilian attacker to offer a tantalising glimpse of the future during Chelsea’s win against Palmeiras in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup. There was also a bright cameo from João Pedro, who came on for Liam Delap just after Estêvão’s equaliser early in the second half and proceeded to change the game with his brawn and intelligent link-up play.It was an eye-catching performance from the forward given that his £60m move to Chelsea had been announced two days earlier. What had the 23‑year‑old been doing during his time off? Lifting logs and existing on a diet of raw steak, presumably. The aggression from João Pedro was startling. He was raring to go after a couple of training sessions with his new teammates and, while he was not involved in the winning goal, his bustling forward play was a vital part of Chelsea reasserting their dominance...

Events

4 d. ago Chelsea XI vs Fluminense: Confirmed team news, predicted lineup, injury latest for Club World Cup semi

Blues boss faces a selection dilemma for the Club World Cup semi-final

Events

4 d. ago Football Daily | Two seasons in a day: the Champions League and Club World Cup overlap

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!Football Daily would prefer not to have to think about Copa Gianni at all but we have a certain professional obligation to do so and have never knowingly been found shirking in the face of our responsibilities. To keep things simple, we prefer to view the tournament as a stand-alone competition that’s taking place between the end of the last season and the beginning of the next one, but the fact that it’s being contested by clubs instead of countries leaves plenty of room for debate. Watching Kingsley Coman “sprint” on to a through-ball from Harry Kane during Bayern Munich’s defeat by PSG as if he was running in knee-deep wet cement, we were presented with the sight of a player in next season’s kit who was quite clearly exhausted by the exertions of the one that may or may not have ended before the tournament in which he was playing started. Does the goal he didn’t score go down in the official xG column of last season, next season,...

Sport

5 d. ago Real Madrid XI vs PSG: Confirmed team news, predicted lineup, injury latest for Club World Cup semi

Los Blancos are without one of their summer signings due to suspension

Events

5 d. ago PSG XI vs Real Madrid: Confirmed team news, predicted lineup, injury latest for Club World Cup semi

PSG are without suspended defensive duo for Club World Cup semi-final showdown

Events

6 d. ago Estêvão shows Chelsea he can form dangerous partnership with Palmer

Playmaker scored against his new club and should form an entertaining combination with the England internationalThe good news for Chelsea is that Cole Palmer and Estêvão Willian will be on the same team when they next share a pitch. Even better, it seems two of the most gifted young forwards around already have a connection. They were on opposite sides in Philadelphia on Friday night but friends when it was over, sharing a warm embrace after Chelsea’s victory over Palmeiras in the Club World Cup, swapping shirts and perhaps thinking about how much fun they are going to have at the expense of opposition defences when they line up together next season.It was a heartwarming sight. Palmer offered a reminder that he remains the main man at Chelsea, performing with craft and intelligence during a first half in which he opened the scoring in smooth fashion, but Estêvão vied for centre stage on his final appearance for Palmeiras. It was an extraordinary performance given the context. Antici...

Politics