Friday’s FIFA Club World Cup match between Brazilian side Flamengo and English team Chelsea saw two clubs and fanbases returning to Lincoln Financial Field.
Flamengo had earned a 2-0 win over Tunisia’s Espérance de Tunisie in Monday night’s opener in Philly, while Chelsea last played at the Linc in 2023.
Pedro Junker, from East Brunswick, N.J., was at Chelsea’s game against Brighton and Hove Albion, part of the first-ever English Premier League Summer Series.
This game felt different for him and other supporters of the London superclub — and that was before it turned into a 3-1 victory for Flamengo before a raucous crowd of 54,019 fans.
“This one feels like we’re more of an underdog,” he said. “Last time, it was a lot more Chelsea fans than Brighton fans. This time, I know there’s more Flamengo fans here.”
Flamengo, along with Esperance, showed how they can dial up a soccer atmosphere on Monday, making the crowd of not quite 26,000 seem like it was much, much more.
Friday afternoon, the fans of the Rio de Janeiro-based club made their presence felt around the city again as they made their way to the Sports Complex. Subway cars on the Broad Street Line rang with Portuguese soccer songs and chants.
They also showed they can also throw a decent tailgate, filling out the lots of the Wells Fargo Center next to the Linc with chants, music, tantalizing grills, waving flags and the occasional firework or three.
Harley, a Flamengo fan living in San Francisco, said the atmosphere reminded him of when he used to live in Rio.
“It’s like memories from Maracanã [the home stadium of Flamengo],” he said. “The people here, the crowds. It’s a good memory.”
The game, and the tournament, also had more at stake compared to the summer series and the other friendlies the stadium has hosted since it was picked as one of 16 cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico that will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
This edition of the Club World Cup greatly expanded the teams participating, from seven teams to 32, all competing for a total tournament prize pool of $1 billion.
“I know this game actually matters,” Junker said. “I want to watch games that matter. The friendly was fun, but this is what I’m looking forward to.”
Flamengo rallies for win
The stakes played out on the field in a closely contested, aggressive match. Chelsea’s Pedro Neto opened the scoring on a counterattack after miscommunication by Flamengo’s Wesley and Erick Pulgar gathering the ball.
Flamengo came close to scoring several times and finally found an equalizer in the 62nd minute, with forward Bruno Henrique’s tap-in from a ball headed across goal. The team scored again three minutes later when Danilo volleyed in another ball headed back across goal, this time on a corner.
Chelsea’s chances of mounting a comeback faded when striker Nicholas Jackson was given a straight red card, and disqualified from the match, just four minutes after coming on as a substitute, for a dangerous tackle. The Brazilian team’s third goal, scored in the 83rd minute by substitute Wallace Yan, added to the Flamengo fans’ jubilation and the Chelsea fans’ collective misery.
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Flamengo’s Bruno Henrique celebrates after scoring during the Club World Cup Group D soccer match between Flamengo and Chelsea in Philadelphia, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton) -
Flamengo’s Wallace Yan celebrates after scoring during the Club World Cup Group D soccer match between Flamengo and Chelsea in Philadelphia, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton) -
Flamingo fans burn torches during the Club World Cup Group D soccer match between Flamengo and Chelsea in Philadelphia, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
A more level playing field
Flamengo, Esperance and the other non-European teams participating in this tourney often get overshadowed by the English and European sides, who tend to receive the majority of money, top players and attention in club football. Flamengo is a rich club, with an estimated 50 million fans globally, but not Chelsea rich.
Joel Guimares, Brazilian-born but currently based in Boston, said that many Flamengo fans see this tournament as a chance to show that the financial disparity between English and Brazilian soccer isn’t everything.
“Premier League has more money, but we have more passion,” he said.
This edition of the Club World Cup also serves as the de facto tuneup competition for the World Cup, since many of the 12 venues this year will be among the 16 hosting the World Cup across the U.S., Canada and Mexico next year, including Philly.
The Linc will host eight games during next year’s tournament — six group-stage games, a round-of-16 game and a quarterfinal, which will happen on July 4.
Gareth Watkins, 12, Tyler Czerwinski, 15, and Layton Price, 13, came with their families from various parts of Delaware for the game. The Chelsea fans were also at the Linc for the 2023 game. This time, they, too, felt outnumbered.
A preview of 2026
Tyler said he feels like the pregame atmosphere Friday is what Philly can expect next summer.
“I feel like this is kind of close, but it doesn’t match what the energy will be,” he said. “But it’s pretty dang close.”
Gareth expects far more.
“This, times 10,” he predicted.
The Linc’s next match kicks off on Sunday at noon, between Italian club Juventus and Morocco’s Wydad, which lost, 2-0, to Manchester City on Wednesday. Juventus players and staff, including American players Weston McKennie and Tim Weah, were part of an awkward White House visit this week, where President Donald Trump made remarks about Israel’s conflict with Iran and transgender athletes in sports while hosting the team in the Oval Office. Philly will host five more games in this tournament, including a quarterfinal on the Fourth of July.