So, after 62 games, 192 goals and almost 2.5 million people through the turnstiles, the Club World Cup came down to this.
A showpiece between the champions of Europe and the club which has spent more money in the past three years alone than any other before or throughout the history of football.
Winning the Europa Conference in May when they were often up against minnows was hardly an achievement to write home about but victory in America against the team currently considered the best in the planet would be.
This was Paris St Germain v Chelsea. Who would take the glory (and the cash!).
Well, the answer is…Chelsea.
I didn’t expect it, the World Club Championship 2025 betting odds didn’t expect it and, if you’re being honest with yourself, I would imagine the majority of you didn’t either.
Yet a first half showing in which the west Londoners had three efforts on target and scored all three was enough to down the Parisiens.
After 22 minutes, Malo Gusto has a shot blocked and young gun Cole Palmer took centre stage as he placed a shot in the bottom corner beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma from the edge of the box.
One became two eight minutes later when the same player produced an almost identical finish after dummying his marker.
Two minutes before the break and it was all over. This time Palmer was the creator as he slipped a fine ball into the path of Joao Pedro and he did the rest.
More composure from Palmer et al and just remember, Pedro was a Brighton player – and still on holiday – during the last-16 games in this competition.
He only joined them before the quarter-finals and he’s scored three goals already.
After a half-time show – yes the American razzmatazz was in full swing – PSG tried to show their quality but they had been rattled by Chelsea’s intensity and there was no way past Robert Sanchez.
Cooling breaks, when players were allowed to take on fluids and instructions in the 28 degrees Celsius heat, further disrupted PSG’s efforts to get back into the contest which became increasingly scrappy for a time.
That suited Enzo Maresca and his players, especially with a three goal advantage and the frustration of Luis Enrique and his players was best summed up five minutes from time when Joao Neves was cautioned for pulling full-back Marc Cucurella’s hair, only for the referee to issue a red card after he reviewed the challenge on the VAR screen and deemed it to be violent conduct.
All in all, the result in the Met Life Stadium means that if PSG are to add the world crown to the European crown, they will have to wait until the official world championship – the Intercontinental Final – the week before Christmas.
And so there you have it: that was the Club World Cup and, as for the tournament generally, there have been plenty of World Club Championship 2025 highlights to attract Sbotop fans.
Certainly 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.
But is the tournament really a good addition to an already congested football calendar? I would suggest not.
To highlight just two examples, one of the early games – between Bayern Munich and Auckland – demonstrated the gulf in class; a gaping chasm on the pitch mirrored off it when you consider Auckland reported 1.1 million New Zealand dollars (around £488,000) in revenue for the last financial year, compared to the Bundesliga giants’ 951.5m euros (£810m).
In addition, Auckland’s amateur players have a salary cap of 150 New Zealand dollars (around £66) per week, while England captain Harry Kane is reported to be earning £400,000 per week at Bayern. On that basis, it would take Auckland’s best-paid player about 117 years to earn Kane’s weekly salary.
No surprise that then contest ended 10-0 in the Bavarians’ favour and, a month on, I am still wondering what benefit the New Zealanders gained from the encounter.
And if questions still remain about the new competition, then surely its legacy will appear six or nine months from now when fatigue kicks in, in European leagues when Club World Cup teams are still recovering from their summer’s exertions.
All in all, FIFA has lost focus on what is best for football. It needs reminding that the players are the stars of the show.
Palmer and co proved that as, in front of US president Donald Trump, they trumped opponents largely considered the best team on the planet.
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