Benfica reached the Club World Cup via the ranking pathway and were assured of their participation when the criteria for the four-year cycle was first released, given their performances in the Champions League in that period.

Earlier this week, Benfica ended a 13-match winless head-to-head run against Bayern Munich by beating the German champions 1-0 in Charlotte to top group C with seven points.

Head coach Bruno Lage has been in charge since September last year. When he was with Wolves, he managed two games against Chelsea in 2021/22, both of which ended all square. One of those who played for him during his time at Molineux was Pedro Neto.

Key information

Formation: 1904
Ground: Estadio da Luz (Capacity 64,642)
Major honours: Two European Cups, 38 Primeira Liga titles, 26 Portuguese Cups, eight Portuguese League Cups

2024/25 season

Primeira Liga: Second
Taca de Portugal: Runners-up
Taca da Liga: Winners
Champions League: Round of 16
Club World Cup: Currently round of 16
Top scorer all competitions: Vangelis Pavlidis 30

Last five results

Braga (a) D 1-1
Sporting (Portuguese Cup final) L 1-3 aet
Boca Juniors (CWC) D 2-2
Auckland (CWC) W 6-0
Bayern Munich (CWC) W 1-0

Club World Cup scorers: Di Maris 3, Barreiro 2, Otamendi 1, Pavlidis 1, Renato Sanches 1, Schjelderup 1

Last Benfica line-up

Benfica vs Bayern Munich on Tuesday 24 June 2025 (4-2-3-1): Trubin; Aursnes, Silva, Otamendi (c), Dahl; Sanches (Bajrami 78), Barreiro; Di Maria (Rego 87), Prestianni (Kokcu 55), Schjelderup (Akturkoglu 55); Pavlidis (Gouveia 87)
Booked: Sanches, Otamendi, Pavlidis
Goal: Schjelderup 13
Attendance: 33,287

Where Chelsea rely on the youngest squad in the Premier League and emerging leaders such as Reece James, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, Benfica have several older heads in their camp - names fans across the world will know well.

Angel Di Maria, who include Real Madrid, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain among his former clubs, continues to impress in attack at the age of 37.

In the heart of the defence is another former Premier League player and 37-year-old Nicolas Otamendi, a serial winner who has lifted seven league titles in three countries as well as the World Cup and two Copa Americas.

Another player fans might recognise include former Swansea City loanee Renato Sanches in central midfield - now 27 - but there is also a lot of young talent in their ranks too, with match-winner against Bayern, Andreas Schjelderup, one of many who has impressed this tournament so far.

Former players

Six players have signed for Chelsea directly from Benfica, all in the last 21 years: Tiago (2004), Ramires (2010), David Luiz (2011), Nemanja Matic (2014), Enzo Fernandez (2023) and Diego Moreira (2023). Two have moved the other way: Scott Minto in 1997 and Nemanja Matic in 2011. In addition, Joao Felix, Maniche, Mario Stanic and Emerson Thome have played for both clubs in their careers.

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