Chelsea have ended up on the kinder side of the Club World Cup knockout stage bracket after beating ES Tunis in their final group game. The Blues ended up second but have avoided a potential nightmare last-16 tie in the process.
After Bayern Munich’s surprise 1-0 defeat to Benfica on Tuesday night, which ended hours before Chelsea overcame Tunis 3-0 in sweltering American heat, even at night, the draw has opened up for Enzo Maresca’s men. Although they won’t be taking anything for granted, the picture ahead is a lot more favourable.
Chelsea will face Benfica on Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina, it can now be confirmed. It is a 500-mile trip from their current base in Philadelphia, but that equates to a short enough plane journey on the East Coast.
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The FIFA Club World Cup will see 32 of the world’s best club teams including Man City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich play across 63 games from June 14-July 13.
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More importantly, Chelsea have avoided Bayern and will also be on the opposite side of the draw to Paris Saint-Germain. Chelsea know that if they beat Benfica, who were their 2013 Europa League final opponents, then they will face one of two Brazilian sides.
It would either be a match against Palmeiras and wonderkid Estevao Willian, who is due to join Chelsea after the Club World Cup, or PSG giant-killers Botafogo. That game is due to be played in Philadelphia at the Lincoln Financial Field again for Chelsea.
Should Chelsea progress through both the last-16 and quarter-finals then it would be off to New York, where each of the semi-finals and final are being played. That is yet again a short distance away for Chelsea, who have largely managed to reduce their travel during the competition so far, offering the players some respite compared to a pre-season tour.
Just as importantly for Chelsea, they have banked an additional £5.8million in prize money for reaching the last-16 and know that their chances of getting the £10.1million in the quarter-finals are more likely with Benfica ahead rather than Bayern. A minimum of £9.9million was already guaranteed just for playing at the competition.
FIFA’s £775million total prize pool is split nicely for European sides, who will see the top-ranked side take in a huge £29.6million once all is said and done. Chelsea, currently, will be eyeing at least £15million, if not more, from the available cash on offer given their new pathway to the final.
If Chelsea do make it past Benfica and one of Palmeiras or Botafogo, then there is £16.2million in rewards for reaching the semis. At that stage they would be looking at a set of teams including Inter/River Plate, Borussia Dortmund/Fluminense, Juventus/Manchester City, and RB Salzburg/Real Madrid.
The final group games are set to conclude this week, which will make the potential semi-final lineup picture much clearer. Meanwhile, there is £23.2million guaranteed for getting to the final. The winners take home £30million.
So far, including their two group stage wins (which are equal to £1.54million each) Chelsea have earned at least £18.77million in prize money. That will rise to over £28million if they get past Benfica, and hit £45million should they make the semi-finals, which now looks a lot more achievable than it did after the Flamengo loss.
Chelsea will not be planning for that yet, though, as they know that Benfica ultimately beat Bayern and have caused plenty of threat themselves. Meanwhile, Palmeiras and Botafogo have shown why they are capable of causing serious upsets with intensity and great technical play.
Flamengo caught Chelsea out and Maresca knows that his team will have to keep on improving if they are to go further in the competition. It could make a massive difference for the transfer window ahead as Chelsea look to add strength and depth to the squad.
The sizeable prize money boost they will get from simply being at Club World Cup may well impact the level of cash willing to be spent further down the line.
