Rare is the day a player earns a first start for their new team in the semifinal of a competition despite being under contract with an entirely different club during the group stage, but leave it to the new-look Club World Cup to shoehorn a new quirk into the structured soccer calendar.

João Pedro was a Brighton striker. Last decade, he spent eight years in the youth academy at Fluminense. On Tuesday, he beat Fluminense in a Club World Cup semifinal playing for Chelsea.

Joao Pedro's first start for Chelsea was a rather memorable one, as the newly signed $75-million striker scored both goals and the Blues beat Fluminense, Pedro's boyhood club, 2-0 in the semifinals of the 2025 Club World Cup on Tuesday.