Second-placed Chelsea will have to avoid defeat in their final group game against third-place Esperance Tunis to qualify for the Round of 16 stage of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.
TUN vs CHE Match Details
Date: Tuesday, 24 June 2025 / Wednesday, 25 June 2025
Time: 21:00 (EDT) / 06:30 (IST)
Venue: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
TUN vs CHE Match Preview
Tunisian giants Esperance Tunis maintained a glimmer of hope to qualify for the knockout stages of the Club World Cup 2025 with a much-needed victory against Los Angeles FC in their second group game. Maher Kanzari's side feared an early exit from the competition after suffering a 2-0 loss to Flamengo in their opening group game, but Youcef Belaili’s 70-minute strike to claim the 1-0 win against the MLS outfit brought belief into the team. However, the real hero on the day was their goalkeeper, Bechir Ben Said, who expertly saved a last-minute penalty from Denis Bouanga to ensure the three points. However, Tunis’s task only gets difficult from here as they now lock horns with Premier League giants Chelsea in their final group, requiring a win to secure their place in the last-16 stage. The African side has the same points as the Blues, but their negative goal difference puts them out of the top two in their group. The Red and Yellow have lost just once in their last eight games in all competitions, which is a source of encouragement, having also secured their fifth win in that period against LAFC. Tunis would be charged to do the unthinkable by stunning the 2021 Club World Cup winners to make their place in the knockouts in their fourth appearance in the contest.
Chelsea looks to have secured an early qualification for the knockout stage when Pedro Neto latched onto a defensive error to put his side ahead against Flamengo, just as he did in the opening game in the 2-0 win against LAFC. However, the Blues failed to secure three points this time as they crumbled to the high-octane football of Filipe Luis’s side, who initiated a stunning second-half comeback to win the game 3-1. It resulted in the 2022 Copa Libertadores winners advancing to the last-16 stage by claiming the top spot in their group ahead of Enzo Maresca's side, who also went down to 10 players following Nicolas Jackson's straight red card. Despite the gut-wrenching defeat, the two-time Champions League winners are in control of their destiny, as avoiding another loss in the final group game will be enough to secure their place in the last-16 stage. Chelsea should live up to the favourites tag in the final group game, as they have enough quality to bounce back from the loss and make it to the knockouts. The only issue is that Maresca's team will not get the top spot in the group, with the second-place finish almost certainly pitting them against Bayern Munich in the last-16 stage.
TUN vs CHE Recent Form (all competitions)
TUN: WWDLW
CHE: WWWWL
TUN vs CHE Recent Form (CWC 2025)
TUN: LW
CHE: WL
TUN vs CHE Predicted Lineups
Tunis
Ben Said; Ben Ali, Tougai, Meriah, Ben Hamida; Mokwana, Guenichi, Ogbelu, Konate; Belaili; Rodrigues
Chelsea
Sanchez; James, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Delap
TUN vs CHE Dream11 Match Prediction
Although this tournament has seen many surprising results, Tunis is unlikely to cause an upset here, even if Chelsea has a hard defeat to swallow from their previous game. The path to the knockouts for the Tunisian giants is much more difficult than the Blues and despite conceding just four since April, it will be hard for them to resist a side that has found the back of the net in 13 of their past 15 games. We predict a 2-1 win for Enzo Maresca’s side.
TUN vs CHE Dream11 Team Top picks
Captain Pick: Pedro Neto
Vice-captain Picks: Enzo Fernández
TUN vs CHE Dream11 Team Suggestion
GK: Ben Said (Cr - 7)
DEF: Hamida (Cr - 8.5), Colwill (Cr - 8), Cucurella (Cr - 9)
MID: Madueke (Cr - 7.5), Palmer (Cr - 9), Fernández (Cr - 9), Belaili (Cr - 8), Konate (Cr - 7)
FW: Delap (Cr - 7), Neto (Cr - 8)
Vice-captain: Enzo Fernández
Captain: Pedro Neto
