SE Palmeiras & FC Porto Open the 2025 Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium with an Action-Packed 0-0 Draw

Photo credit: Carl Recine - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

East Rutherford, NJ — The 2025 Club World Cup kicked off for the first time at MetLife Stadium, the host of the Final next month, with Brazilian powerhouse Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras taking on one of the Portuguese "Big Three" in FC Porto.

The second game in Group A saw a similar 0-0 scoreline to its counterpart down in Miami, but the 46,725 fans in attendance were treated to a very intense and action-packed game at the Meadowlands.

Both teams fielded their young superstars in attack. For Palmeiras, that was Chelsea bound Estêvão, and for Porto, it was both Samuel Aghehowa and Rodrigo Mora.

Estêvão showed exactly why the London club paid up to ~€67,000,000 (€34,000,000 base fee) more than a year ago after turning just 17 years old. After a 65-minute effort against Porto, Estêvão was named player of the match.

Photo credit: Carl Recine - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

The first big opportunity for the Brazilians to open the scoring fell to Estêvão in the fifth minute, thanks to the Palmeiras press forcing a turnover off a goal kick from Porto. Mauricio was the one to intercept the bad pass and with the Porto backline scrambling, his cut-back pass to the top of the box found the teenager with acres of space. Unfortunately for Estêvão and the 35,000+ Palmeiras supporters, his first time left-footed shot went just past the left post to let Porto off the hook.

Estêvão had Palmeiras' best opportunity to score the first goal of the game in first-half stoppage time.

As Palmeiras hit Porto on a counterattack, Joaquin Piquerez played Vitor Roque in behind the Portuguese defense, and the former Barcelona striker's cross found Estêvão right at the top of the six-yard box for a sure tap-in with his left foot. That was until Porto goalkeeper Cláudio Ramos, making just his 31st appearance in the last five years, was able to dive to his left and keep Palmeiras off the board.

If it weren't for Ramos in between the posts for Porto, Palmeiras would be on top of Group A after match day one. His double save in first-half stoppage time was the difference Sunday evening.

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Palmeiras did have one last opportunity to snatch all three points in the 82nd minute. Off a corner, Murilo Cerqueira's near-post header finally beat Cláudio Ramos, but not the post. There's a reason why they call the post "a goalkeepers best friend."

On the flip side, Porto had their own uber-talented youngsters in attack, with the likes of Samuel Aghehowa and Rodrigo Mora leading the line for Martin Amselmi.

Just like Estêvão, Mora is a special talent and just celebrated his 18th birthday. The shifty 5'6 attacking midfielder was all over the front line for Porto and was a few feet from getting the Portuguese side on the board in the 13th minute.

Mora in the Liga Portugal this past season scored 10 goals for Porto, including eight in his last nine league games as a 17-year-old.

Against Palmeiras, Mora's combination play with the aforementioned Aghehowa led directly to his chance in the first 15 minutes of the match. His touch off a pass from Aghehowa freed him up just enough inside the box to get off a shot, a shot that Palmeiras goalkeeper Weverton had no chance at saving, that went merely a few feet wide of the left post.

Photo credit: FC Porto

On the other end of the spectrum, Samuel Aghehowa stands 6'4 and is a powerful striker with an Olympic sprinter's speed.

That speed and power were on full display in the 34th minute when the Spanish striker had his opportunity at goal. Brought down on the left wing by Agustin Giay, Aghehowa continued with the play and beat a second Palmeiras defender with his pace to get a 1v1 with the goalkeeper. His angle at the net was severely cut down when he attempted his shot, which he tried to curl around the goalkeeper from the end-line, but Weverton still needed to make a left-hand save to keep the game a nil-nil.

Overall, the first Club World Cup game at MetLife Stadium was an intense game between two very good teams. Both Palmeiras and Porto had clear chances to open the scoring, but Weverton and Cláudio Ramos brought their "A" games.

The Bad Pitch & "Poor" Crowd

You might think to yourself when you see only 46,725 fans in an 82,500 (56%) seat capacity stadium, "wow, that's not a good crowd." For Palmeiras head coach Abel Ferreira, having 46,000 fans in attendance was "fantastic."

Well, the issue is that the stadium is absolutely huge, 46,000 people in the stadium, in my opinion, is fantastic," said Ferreira. "Maybe they could have closed the upper ring of the stadium and placed everybody in the first and second rings. I think that people could see the greatness of Palmeiras, especially with the Portuguese people."

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The home of Palmeiras is the Allianz Parque, which holds 43,713 fans, while the Estádio do Dragão in Porto has a capacity of 50,033 on any given day.

"It felt like we were playing at home, and this is the strength of Palmeiras, and we also showed the strength of our players. 46,000 people to me is very good for a match, where people from Brazil and Portugal had to fly for 10+ hours, it's not easy. I think that it was an excellent match, in my opinion.

While New Jersey has the highest proportion of Portuguese immigrants in the United States, the Palmeiras supporters from all over the eastern seaboard came to support their team at MetLife Stadium. Walking around the concourse, you could see the sea of green in the stadium. The crowd was easily 85%, if not more, Palmeiras fans.

Photo credit: Daniel Rebain/Area Sports Network

Onto the pitch. As much as the intensity was noticeable in the first half, you could tell that the players were facing some issues with the pitch, with both coaches and players calling the grass at MetLife Stadium "slow."

“In the beginning, the pitch was dry. I don’t know who the patron saint of rain is, but after it rained, it then enabled us to play our game,” said Abel Ferreira.

Player of the match Estêvão all chimed in on the lack of water on the field. “I think the pitch should have been watered a little more. The ball was a little slow, which interfered with the pace of the game. As the game went on, it rained, which made it roll a bit faster.”

At MetLife, where the New York Giants and New York Jets call home, they normally use artificial turf as the playing surface. With the Club World Cup in town and the World Cup coming in 2026, MetLife will be sporting a new grass pitch.

Video via PIX11 Sports

The Athletic reported that FIFA had studied which grass type would be best for MetLife, deciding on a “warm-season grass” it believed would endure the local conditions. In the same report, it was stated that the grass was grown at Tuckahoe Turf Farms, which is also responsible for the grass being grown for the men’s World Cup in 2026.

They have some tinkering to do with the watering system, but from the press box, the grass looked in good shape after 90 minutes of play, and that's at least one positive to take from the game.

MetLife Stadium is set to host eight more matches during the Club World Cup this summer, including both semi-finals and the final.

Match Facts

Palmeiras: 4-2-3-1 (HC: Abel Ferreira)

Weverton (GK); Joaquin Piquerez, Murilo, Gustavo Gomez, Agustin Giay; Anibal Moreno Richard Rios (88'); Felipe Anderson (64'), Mauricio (65'), Estevao (65'); Victor Roque (77')

Bench: Luighi, Thalys, Jose Manuel Lopez (77'), Paulinho (64'), Facundo Torres, Raphael Veiga (65'), Allan (65'), Lucas Evangelista (88'), Emiliano Martinez, Vanderlan, Mayke, Marcos Rocha, Bruno Fuchs, Micael & Marcelo Lomba (GK)

FC Porto: 3-4-2-1 (HC: Martin Anselmi)

Claudio Ramos (GK); Ivan Marcano, Ze Pedro, Martim Fernades; Francisco Moura, Alan Varela, Gabri Veiga, Joao Mario; Rodrigo Mora, Fabio Vieira; Samu Aghehowa

Bench: Deniz Gül, Danny Namaso, Pepe, André Franco, Ángel Alarcón, Gonçalo Borges, William Gomes, Stephen Eustaquio, Tomás Pérez, André Oliveira, Vasco Sousa, Nehuén Pérez, Otavio, Zaidu Sanusi & Diogo Fernandes

Scoring Summary

• None

Stats (Palmeiras/Porto)

• Possession: 55% - 45%

• Shots: 17 (5) - 11 (3)

• Big Chances: 2 - 1

• Expected Goals (xG): 2.08 - 0.78

• Passing: 326 (82%) - 262 (79%)

• Fouls: 20 - 12

• Corners: 4 - 4

Discipline

• 9': Felipe Anderson (Yellow)

• 15': Martim Fernandes (Yellow)

• 62: Gustavo Gomes (Yellow)

• 63: Abel Ferreira (Yellow)

• 90+2': Nehuen Perez (Yellow)

Highlights via FIFA/DAZN