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The Independent
an hour ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Is Chelsea vs Benfica on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch Club World Cup for free
Chelsea will bid to extend their run at the Club World Cup as Enzo Maresca's side take on Benfica in the round of 16. Liam Delap scored his first goal for the London club to help them cruise past ES Tunis in their final group game as they bounced back from defeat to Flamengo. A potential encounter with Bayern Munich has been avoided after Benfica snatched top spot in Group C with a narrow win against the Germans thanks to a goal from Andreas Schjelderup. The Portuguese club have lost all three of their previous meetings with Chelsea, including both legs of a Champions League quarter-final in 2012. Here's everything you need to know. When is Chelsea vs Benfica? Chelsea vs Benfica is due to kick off at 11pm BST on Saturday 28 June at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. DAZN will show each match of the tournament live, including the final, for free in the UK. All users can watch a live stream on television and mobile devices by signing up for the company's DAZN Freemium service, with the option to watch ad-free coverage for £14.99. Users can watch DAZN from anywhere by using the DAZN App on TVs, smartphones and any device with a web browser. ROUND OF 16 Saturday 28 June Match 49: Palmeiras vs. Botafogo (Philadelphia) Match 50: Benfica vs. Chelsea (Charlotte) Sunday 29 June Match 51: PSG vs. Inter Miami (Atlanta) Match 52: Flamengo vs. Bayern Munich (Miami) Monday 30 June Match 53: Inter Milan vs. Fluminense (Charlotte) Match 54: Manchester City vs. Al-Hilal (Orlando) Tuesday 1 July Match 55: Borussia Dortmund vs. Monterrey (Atlanta) Match 56: Real Madrid vs Juventus (Miami) QUARTER-FINALS Friday 4 July Match 57: Winners of Match 49 vs. Winners of Match 50 (Philadelphia) Match 58: Winners of Match 53 vs. Winners of Match 54 (Orlando) Saturday 5 July Match 59: Winners of Match 51 vs. Winners of Match 52 (Atlanta) Match 60: Winners of Match 55 vs. Winners of Match 56 (East Rutherford) SEMI-FINALS Tuesday 8 July Match 61: Winners of Match 57 vs. Winners of Match 58 (East Rutherford) Wednesday 9 July Match 62: Winners of Match 59 vs. Winners of Match 60 (East Rutherford) FINAL Sunday 13 July
New York Times
4 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Maresca: Best for Acheampong to stay at Chelsea this season
Enzo Maresca insists the best plan is for Josh Acheampong to stay at Chelsea next season despite reports linking him with a move away from Stamford Bridge in this transfer window. Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle are two of the clubs credited with an interest in signing Acheampong, the versatile defender who made 12 first-team appearances for Chelsea across all competitions last season and started their 3-0 win over ES Tunis in the FIFA Club World Cup on Tuesday. Advertisement Sources have told The Athletic that Chelsea have no interest in selling Acheampong this summer and the 19-year-old remains a highly valued part of their future plans. Speaking in a press conference ahead of his team's Club World Cup round-of-16 clash with Benfica in Charlotte, Maresca voiced a similar sentiment. 'The clubs that you mentioned like Josh, but we also like Josh,' he said. 'All clubs like good players. My idea, my plan with Josh is quite clear. I really like Josh and I think potentially he can be a top defender for this club. 'It's on him also to have the right timing to do things. We are full of young players here, full of talented players, even defenders, so I feel the best plan for Josh is to be with us, and I'm very happy if he's going to be with us.' Maresca also revealed that he is prioritising the longer-term development of Andrey Santos, who made his competitive debut for Chelsea off the bench against ES Tunis after being an unused substitute in their first two Club World Cup matches. 'Andrey is working with us, and he's working well,' Maresca added. 'He worked already with us last summer in preseason, so we know Andrey a little bit. His season was very good but I think you need time to adapt. The important thing is he's working well. 'In terms of position, I see Andrey in this moment as more of Enzo (Fernandez's) position than Moi (Caicedo's) or Romeo (Lavia's) position. The reason why is because we're here for this tournament. but we also need to plan for next season in the Premier League, and in the Premier League first of all you need to be physically strong. So in this moment I see Andrey more as an attacking midfielder than a defensive midfielder.'
The Independent
5 hours ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Enzo Fernandez ‘will be even better' next season insists Enzo Maresca
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca expects Enzo Fernandez to get even better as he prepares for a reunion with his former club Benfica. The Argentina midfielder, signed from the Portuguese giants for a then British record £106.8million two years ago, took time to find his feet at Stamford Bridge. But he excelled in the second half of the 2024-25 season, finishing the campaign with eight goals, and has continued to shine at the Club World Cup. The 24-year-old scored in the opening win over Los Angeles FC and created two goals in as many minutes as the Blues beat Esperance Tunis 3-0 in their final group game on Tuesday. Their reward is a last-16 clash with Benfica in Charlotte on Saturday. Maresca told reporters at his pre-match press conference: 'I'm very pleased with Enzo, especially because, first of all, he's a nice boy. He's polite, he's a good boy. 'Then he's worked very well in all aspects inside the pitch, outside the pitch. Our struggle at the beginning was (for him) to understand the way we want to play. 'But he is doing fantastic in terms of numbers, goal assists. This is what we want from our attacking players. 'I've said many times that I prefer to have the attacking players score 10-12 goal each, rather than just a striker with 40 goals. 'So his contribution this season has been top and I am sure next season will be even better.' Despite that, Fernandez could face competition for his place after Maresca suggested he sees Brazilian Andrey Santos more as an attacking player than a defensive one. The highly-rated 21-year-old has rejoined the club this summer after a successful loan spell at Strasbourg and made his debut as a second-half substitute against Esperance. Maresca said: 'His season has been very good but I think you need time to adapt. 'In terms of position, I see Andrey in this moment in more like Enzo's position than Romeo's (Lavia) position. 'The Premier League demands (players) to be physically strong. In this moment, I see Andrey more of an attacking player than defensive in the field.' Maresca added that he hopes 19-year-old defender Josh Acheampong will stay with the club despite being linked with Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund. He said: 'My idea or my plan with Josh is quite clear. I think he potentially can be a top defender for this club. I feel the best plan for Josh is to be with us.' Maresca would also like England international Trevoh Chalobah to stay, but offered no guarantees. He said: 'All the players that are here with us, I don't want to lose them but when the transfer window is open, unfortunately, anything can happen – not only for Trevoh, for (all) the 25 players of the squad.' Maresca expects a tight contest against Benfica. He said: 'It's going to be a balanced game, a tough game. In this kind of game the small details are very important.'
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chelsea boss Maresca hails Fernandez ahead of Benfica Club World Cup clash
Enzo Fernandez in action for Chelsea against Esperance at the Club World Cup (FRANCK FIFE) Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca on Friday hailed the contribution of playmaker Enzo Fernandez as the Argentinian prepares to come up against his old team Benfica at the Club World Cup. "I am very pleased with Enzo especially because first of all he is a nice and polite boy, and then with us since we started he has been working very well in every aspect on and off the pitch," Maresca told reporters in Charlotte. Advertisement That is where the sides will face off on Saturday in the last 16 of FIFA's expanded competition. Fernandez was a vital cog in the Chelsea side that finished fourth in the Premier League to qualify for next season's Champions League, and also featured in their run to the UEFA Conference League title. At the Club World Cup he came off the bench at half-time to score the second goal in the 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC in their opening game. The 24-year-old has started both matches since, and laid on two goals in the 3-0 victory against Esperance of Tunisia in Philadelphia which clinched Chelsea's place in the last 16. Advertisement Fernandez was signed from Benfica in February 2023 for a British transfer record fee at the time of £107 million ($147 million). In 2025 he has scored and assisted a total of 14 goals. "This season he struggled a bit at the beginning to understand the way we want to play but (since) then he is doing fantastic also in terms of numbers, goals and assists," Maresca added. "This is what I want from attacking players -- I have said many times that I prefer to have attacking players with 10-12 goals each than just one striker with 40 goals. "His contribution has been top and I am sure it will be even better next season." Advertisement Chelsea have won all three previous competitive meetings with Benfica, the last coming in the Europa League final in 2013. But Maresca is wary of the Portuguese side after they beat Bayern Munich to top their group at the competition. "I think Benfica, not only in this competition, have always shown how big a club they are in Europe," said the coach. "In the last game they beat Bayern so they showed what they can do. Every game is tough and complicated, and anything can happen." If Chelsea win they will head to Philadelphia for a quarter-final on July 4. as/bb
Al Jazeera
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Al Jazeera
Chelsea given CWC headache ahead of Porto test
Who: Chelsea vs Benfica What: FIFA Club World Cup round of 16 Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States When: Saturday, June 28 at 4pm (21:00 GMT) How to follow: We'll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 1pm local (18:00 GMT) ahead of our live text commentary stream. Chelsea and Benfica meet in the second round of 16 tie at the FIFA Club World Cup in an all-European affair, which could easily have been a fixture straight from the UEFA Champions League. Between them, the clubs have lifted Europe's premier club competition on nine occasions, with seven of those titles going to Portuguese giants, Benfica. Al Jazeera Sport looks ahead to the match that comes with a significant headache for the English club following their late slip-up in the group stage. What is Chelsea's annoyance heading into the Benfica tie? Chelsea are facing a logistical headache at the Club World Cup after finishing second in their group, forcing an unexpected trip to Charlotte for their last 16 match instead of staying in Miami, where the club thought they would be based for the knockout stage. Travel, accommodation and training arrangements were, a source told the news agency Reuters, all made with the assumption that the West Londoners would top Group D and play their round of 16 match at Hard Rock Stadium. The detour to Charlotte means reorganising bookings and schedules at short notice, but the club still intends to return to its Miami base after the match, adding more miles to an already hectic itinerary. What happened to Chelsea in the group stage? The Blue opened their Club World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win against Los Angeles. After a 3-1 loss to Brazil's Flamengo, Chelsea only managed second place despite a 3-0 win over Esperance Tunis in their final group stage fixture in Philadelphia. How did Benfica fare in the group stage? Benfica were held to a 2-2 draw in their opening match at the FIFA Club World Cup by Boca Juniors. The Lisbon-based club then won their final two games against New Zealand's Auckland City (6-0) and Germany's Bayern Munich (1-0). Who awaits Chelsea or Benfica in the quarter-finals? The winner of Saturday's tie will return to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia to face the winner of the all-Brazilian clash between Palmeiras and Botafogo. The #FIFACWC Round of 16 fixtures. 🔢 — FIFA Club World Cup (@FIFACWC) June 27, 2025 Have Chelsea ever won a Club World Cup? Yes. Chelsea, who have twice lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy in Europe, have lifted the Club World Cup once. The Blues lifted the title in 2021 with a 2-1 win against Brazil's Palmeiras. Romelu Lukaku and Kai Havertz scored the Blues' goals, with the winner netted by the latter in extra time. What happened the last time between Chelsea and Benfica? The teams competed for the UEFA Europa League title in 2013, with the Blues securing a 2-1 win. Fernando Torres opened the scoring on the stroke of the hour mark for the Blues with Oscar Cardozo equalising from the spot in the 69th minute. Branislav Ivanovic settled matters with a 90th-minute winner for Chelsea. Chelsea team news Wesley Fofana has joined the squad at the tournament, but the defender continues to recover from a long-term thigh injury and will miss out once again. Striker Nicolas Jackson serves the second and final game of a two-match suspension for a straight red card in the match against Flamengo. Reece James, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella are all in line for a return. Benfica team news Alexander Bah and Manu Silva remain long-term absentees, but midfielder Florentino Luis is in line for a comeback from a shoulder injury, having missed the last two games. Forward Andrea Belotti returns from suspension. Benfica possible starting lineup: Trubin; Aursnes, Silva, Otamendi, Carreras; Barreiro, Sanches; Di Maria, Prestianni, Schjelderup; Pavlidis Chelsea possible starting lineup: Sanchez; James, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Madueke; Delap Head-to-head This is the third meeting between the sides, with Chelsea winning all of the encounters. Along with their Europa League success against Benfica, the Blues won both Champions League ties in 2011-2012. Form guides Benfica form (all competitions): D-L-D-W-W Chelsea form (all competitions): W-W-W-L-W
