Honestly, if you’re trying to keep track of the FIFA Club World Cup game schedule, you’ve probably realized by now that the old seven-team "winter" format is officially dead. It’s 2026, and we are still talking about that massive 32-team expansion from last summer. FIFA basically took the Champions League and the World Cup, threw them in a blender, and served the result to us across 12 different US cities.
It was chaotic. It was long. But man, the schedule was something else.
If you missed the live action or you’re just trying to piece together the history of how Chelsea ended up lifting that trophy at MetLife Stadium, you need the actual timeline. Forget the rumors about it being a "pre-season friendly" tournament. It ran from June 14 to July 13, 2025, and the intensity was real.
The Month That Changed Everything
The whole thing kicked off in Miami. Hard Rock Stadium was packed on June 14 for the opening match between Inter Miami and Al Ahly. It ended in a 0-0 draw, which, let’s be fair, wasn't exactly the goal-fest people expected for Lionel Messi’s home turf debut in a FIFA tournament. But it set the stage.
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From there, the group stage was a relentless grind. We had 48 matches crammed into 12 days.
Basically, from June 14 to June 26, it was non-stop football. You had Bayern Munich putting 10 past Auckland City in Cincinnati one day, and then the very next, you’d see a tactical battle like Real Madrid grinding out a result against Al Hilal. Most fans got confused because the games were happening in four different time zones simultaneously.
Knockout Chaos: July 2025
Once the group stage dust settled, the real fun started on June 28. The Round of 16 was where things got heavy.
Take the Palmeiras vs. Botafogo game on June 28 in Philadelphia—a pure Brazilian derby on US soil. Palmeiras nipped it 1-0. Then you had Chelsea dismantling Benfica 4-1 in Charlotte. It was around this time that people realized the European teams weren't just here for the vacation.
The quarter-finals took place on July 4 and 5. Talk about a holiday weekend.
- July 4: Fluminense beat Al Hilal 2-1 in Orlando.
- July 4: Chelsea edged out Palmeiras 2-1 in a tense night in Philly.
- July 5: PSG took down Bayern 2-0 in Atlanta.
- July 5: Real Madrid survived a 3-2 thriller against Dortmund in New Jersey.
If you were looking for a "weak" game in that schedule, you weren't going to find one. The travel schedule for these players was insane, flying from Seattle to Miami to New York.
The Road to MetLife
The semi-finals shifted the entire focus to the East Coast. Both games were played at MetLife Stadium on July 8 and 9.
First, Chelsea handled Fluminense with a 2-0 win. Then, in what many called the "real" final, PSG absolutely smoked Real Madrid 4-0. It was one of those nights where nothing went right for Los Blancos.
Finally, the big one happened on July 13, 2025.
Chelsea vs. PSG.
MetLife Stadium was a sea of blue and dark blue. Chelsea won 3-0, becoming the first-ever champions of this expanded 32-team format. People keep asking when the next one is, but remember, this is a four-year cycle now. We won't see this specific "Club World Cup game schedule" madness again until 2029.
What to Keep in Mind for Future Schedules
If you're planning for future editions, there are a few things that caught everyone off guard this time.
First, the "two clubs per country" rule is a headache. FIFA limits countries to two teams unless they qualify by winning their continental trophy. That’s why we saw big names like Liverpool or Barcelona missing out while teams like RB Salzburg were in the mix.
Second, the broadcast was weirdly simple. DAZN had the global rights, and for the first time in a while, most of the games were actually free to stream. If you’re looking for highlights now, that’s still the best place to find the full 63-match archive.
Lastly, don't expect a third-place game. FIFA scrapped it for this tournament to save the players' legs. It was straight from the semis to the final.
To get ahead of the next cycle, your best move is to monitor the UEFA coefficient rankings and the AFC/CAF Champions League winners starting now. The points accumulated between 2025 and 2028 will determine who gets the "ranking pathway" spots for the 2029 edition. Keep an eye on the official FIFA digital platforms for the 2029 venue announcements, which are expected to drop sometime in late 2027.