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Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi celebrates with fans after a 2025 FIFA Club World Cup semifinal win. Kai Pfaffenbach-Reuters via Imagn Images

Club World Cup final: Who has the edge, PSG or Chelsea?

By Alyssa Clang | Last updated Jul 10, 2025 4:02 PM ET

After four weeks and 62 matches, the FIFA Club World Cup is nearly over. Paris Saint-Germain of France and Chelsea of England will play for the championship on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Here's how they got to the final and an assessment of the chances of each to win the title. Per NBC Sports, PSG and Chelsea are each guaranteed at least $88M in tournament prize money.

Paris Saint-Germain

No team entered this summer on a higher high than PSG. The French outfit capped its 2025 season with a 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in the Champions League final and cruised into the Club World Cup as the clear favorite. Spain's Atletico Madrid, Brazil's Botafogo and Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders fell to PSG in the group stage without scoring.

PSG faced Inter Miami and former PSG star Lionel Messi in the Round of 16, winning 4-0 without breaking a sweat. Next came German champion Bayern Munich. The game was controversial, featuring a horrible injury to Bayern winger Jamal Musiala and a late PSG red card, but PSG won 2-0 despite Bayern's edge in shots, possession and pass accuracy.

In its biggest test of the tournament, PSG squared off against Spain's Real Madrid, led by ex-PSG man Kylian Mbappé. But PSG routed the Spanish team 4-0.

PSG's stats entering the final are mind boggling: six games, five wins, 16 goals, one goal allowed.

"This was an objective from the start, and now we are just one game away from building PSG’s history, and winning all the trophies we have participated in this season," PSG coach Luis Enrique said, per The Guardian. "These players are exceptional.”

PSG is the obvious favorite for the Club World Cup trophy. It has one of the youngest and most fiendishly talented squads in Europe, and its era of world dominance is just beginning.

Chelsea

Chelsea is on a roller-coaster journey the past several seasons. In 2023, the London outfit toiled under new ownership, drifting toward relegation and dealing with the consequences of being the laughing stock of the Premier League. In 2025, it lifted the UEFA Conference League trophy and cemented itself as a team on the rise.

The Club World Cup has done plenty to back up that narrative. Chelsea didn't walk into the tournament as a favorite, but it cleared every bar set for it with surprising — and confidence-building — grace. It took down Major League Soccer's Los Angeles FC, Brazil's Flamengo and Tunisia's Esperance de Tunis in the group stage before cruising past Portugal's Benfica in the Round of 16.

The quarterfinals and the semifinals brought Brazilian opponents Palmeiras of Sao Paulo and Fluminense of Rio de Janeiro. Both were hailed as the surprise packages of the tournament; both were edged by Chelsea's underrated, hungry squad.

"We are very happy, very proud to play the final,” Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said, per The Guardian. "The best clubs in the world are here. For us to be in the final is something to be proud of."

Indeed it is, but Maresca's men must put in the shift of their lives to beat PSG. Keep an eye on new signing Joao Pedro, who scored twice against Fluminense in the semifinals and may be a surprise element for the London club.

Alyssa Clang

Alyssa is a Boston-born Californian with a passion for global sport. She can yell about misplaced soccer passes in five languages and rattle off the turns of Silverstone in her sleep. You can find her dormant Twitter account at @alyssaclang, but honestly, you’re probably better off finding her here

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