CWC XI: Finals

GOAL US looks at the main storylines from the semifinals, and previews the PSG-Chelsea final in the Club World Cup XI

Well, that was a rude wake up call. Anyone who knew anything about football could have told you that it was going to be a rough afternoon for Real Madrid in the Club World Cup semifinals. PSG are miles better, and Los Blancos are a tactical mess in their own right. But a battering of that magnitude? Wow.

Perhaps, too, it's the game the CWC needed, something so lop-sided that even casuals could admit that one team is trying. Deliver that kind of drama over and over, and there might just be something here.

It is a shame, then, that the other side of the draw delivered something more tepid. Chelsea played a lot like Chelsea against Fluminense: not particularly well, but with just enough on the day against a respectable opponent. Most would have been rooting for Fluminense as is, but there was, in a similar way, a cruel inevitability to things.

Still, it seemed as if whichever team qualified would be treated to the luxury of being absolutely spanked by the Parisians in the final. That might just be the key to it all. The CWC is supposed to determine the best club in the world, and the club team in the world goes and wins it. No way anything else happens, right?

GOAL US presents the Club World Cup XI, with key observations heading into the final.

Real Madrid fans 2025

Hala Madrid?

Peer over the cavernous bowl at MetLife, host stadium for the CWC semifinals and this weekend's final, and you would have seen a sea of white. Wednesday's clash between PSG and Madrid was played in the Bernabeu USA, Blancos fans comfortably outnumbering Parisian supporters with 90 percent support.

That wasn't a massive surprise. Madrid always travel well, and even when they don't, their global reach is immense. It is a shame, from their perspective, that they showed up to see a thorough beating.

Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid CF: Semi Final - FIFA Club World Cup 2025

PSG are so, so, so good

PSG absolutely hammered Madrid here - but what did you expect? The Parisians are on another level to everyone else. By their standards, this is a bad Madrid team, in between eras and figuring things out under a new manager. Still, it's not very Madridian to lose a semifinal so convincingly. That they did is a little bit funny, but also speaks to the inevitability of by far the best side in the world.

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Alonso's tactical conundrum

Alonso insisted after the game that Madrid are very much a project. He admitted that it would take a year - maybe even two - for Los Blancos to find their best. Good luck with that. Alonso is a smart manager, but he is also facing the one problem that even the great Carlo Ancelotti couldn't solve: how do you fit Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham into the same team - while also getting everyone to defend? The simple answer is perhaps "you don't." But you also can't bench anyone. The balance here is atrocious.

Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid CF: Semi Final - FIFA Club World Cup 2025

An undeserved farewell

A word, too, on Luka Modric, who really feels like an unfair victim here. The great Croatian was in tears less than a month ago as he played what should have been his final game for Madrid. He walked off the Santiago Bernabeu field, headband in hand, eyes glassy, the crowd on its feet.

That should be the lasting image of his Madrid career. Instead, there's that of the bemused man standing in an oven in New Jersey, wondering how he had been involved in a 4-0 battering. Milan can't come quickly enough.

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Joao Pedro is good...

Thank god Chelsea have finally spent big on an attacking player. That's an area they really needed to enforce. Seriously, they're barren up there, bereft of players capable of playing in multiple positions. Chelsea are hell-bent on improving that spot, and have been for some time.

The result has been a bunch of misses and imperfect fits. This one, though, they just might have gotten right. Joao Pedro found the net twice in his full debut for the club, scoring two wonderful goals.

Joao Pedro Chelsea

... but should his signing have been allowed?

And that's all lovely for Chelsea. They really needed to spend. They don't do it enough. But for all of the heartwarming content here, there's something that feels a bit wrong about it. Why should you be allowed to dish out massive amounts of cash to bring someone in in the middle of a major tournament? Why is that kind of wriggle room and spending power allowed? Put simply: it shouldn't be.

Luis Suarez Inter Miami Palmeiras

Farewell to the big names

More broadly, this tournament been a procession of some football legends - at least on the global stage. Thiago Silva has likely played out his last act for Fluminense and deserves a shout for player of the tournament for his excellent shifts at center back. Modric is, of course, gone.

But so too is Thomas Muller, who played what is all-but certainly his last game for Bayern Munich in the quarter final loss to PSG. Luis Suarez is done with Uruguay. Antoine Griezmann's career is approaching its end - even if he signed a contract extension. The same can be said for Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria and feel good story of the century, Francesco Acerbi. Thanks for the memories, lads.

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Building a TEAM

Luis Enrique is an immensely likable character. From the tragic backstory about the death of his daughter that he has been remarkably open about, to the way he is willing to answer every question for every reporter at every news conference, he feels like one of the footballing good guys.

But he can also be snarky, sharp-tongued, and perhaps a little too opinionated. Such was the case when Mbappe left PSG last year. He suggested, on numerous occasions, that the Parisians were better without their star man. People laughed. Well they're not laughing now, are they?

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All Europe, all disappointment?

A PSG-Chelsea final feels about right when you consider the way the knockout bracket played out. The Brazilian teams all had their chances - and failed to capitalize. PSG had to beat both Bayern and Madrid. There was a randomness to the way the elimination stages came together.

This inherently unpredictable thing served up a good product. But it feels a bit disappointing to have an all-European final. After so much talk of equality and the respect that must be given to European sides, this all feels like going back to the inevitable.

Fanatics Fest NYC 2025

Gianni gets the team(s) he wants

Not that Gianni Infantino will care, of course. This is probably what he wanted all along. There was a bit of jeopardy. He gets to make all of the right noises about South American football being good. Attendances didn't exactly set the football world alight, but the latter games have delivered - and the final is supposedly going to sell out. At the end of the day, though, two of the richest and most marketable clubs are in the final. Job done.

club world cup trophy

Changes to come?

There are imperfections here. But if what FIFA wanted is a good proof of concept, then they have one. The group stages didn't quite deliver in full, but the knockouts have been mostly good. The big names have played, while there has been enough post-season spin and pre-season intrigue to make it a tournament worth watching. Questions might surely be asked about the level of competition. But then again, you can't have a Club WORLD Cup without some inevitable beatdowns. There will be tweaks. For now, though, FIFA got it right.