Chelsea's Estevao Plays in Club World Cup, Has Fans Purring | OneFootball

With Palmeiras’ opening game of the 2025 Club World Cup kicking off at 11 p.m. (BST), many Chelsea supporters may have merely caught a glimpse of their new teenage sensation before turning in for the night.

For those who sacrificed their beauty sleep and ventured into the early hours of Monday morning, they would've entered the land of nod content with their first viewing of Estêvão Willian.

Chelsea agreed a £29 million ($39.4 million) deal with Palmeiras back in May 2024 to sign the highly-regarded teenager, although it was agreed that Estêvão would remain with the Brazilian club for the Club World Cup—a tournament which, historically, has meant more to teams around the world compared to the European behemoths.

Monday’s action started with Bayern Munich’s 10–0 thumping of part-timers Auckland City before Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain continued from where they left off in Munich by thrashing Atlético Madrid 4–0. Those who tuned in craved hints of competitiveness, and we were certainly treated to that in New Jersey as Palmeiras took on Porto.

Much of the intrigue surrounding the fixture focused on Estêvão, whom Carlo Ancelotti labelled a "special talent" after handing the 18-year-old his first Brazil start against Ecuador during the June international break.

The teenager started down the right flank for a Palmeiras team that also contained former West Ham and Lazio winger Felipe Anderson and former Barcelona striker Vitor Roque, who’s trying to re-establish himself in his homeland. Their Portuguese coach, Abel Ferreira, opted to match Porto’s 3-4-2-1, and Estêvão was handed plenty of freedom to roam from an inside forward position.

While there were times when the teenager hugged the touchline and combined with Anderson inside, it was clear that Estêvão prefers to operate from more central positions. He perhaps should’ve scored when a good early chance presented itself from a high turnover, but Estêvão set out his shot too wide of Cláudio Ramos’ goal without the requisite curl.

After scoring 13 times in Série A last year, Estêvão is yet to find the back of the net in the league this term, and his eagerness to get off the mark at this tournament was clear in the first half. His second chance came after the impressive Richard Ríos picked him out down the left in transition, allowing Estêvão to potentially drive across Ramos‘ goal with a pinpoint effort. However, his shot was blocked.

Then, just before half-time, Estêvão arrived at the back post to surely convert Roque’s cross, but poor contact from close range allowed Ramos to save. That sequence was incredible from the Porto goalkeeper, who was deserving of his clean sheet in the goalless stalemate.

Those were the teenager’s three big moments amid a bright 65-minute display laden with exuberance out of possession, clever touches, and smart movement off-the-ball to get himself into a position to receive. It was a performance which perhaps wasn‘t worthy of the Player of the Match honour he earned, but Estêvão undeniably showed enough on Matchday 1 of the tournament to suggest that this is a player Chelsea should be incredibly excited about.

He boasts the self-assurance of the samba greats who left their mark before him, and the talent to perhaps do the 'next Neymar' tag justice.

Against strong European opposition, Estêvão proved that he belonged but there’s plenty more to come from him at this Club World Cup.