Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer led his club to a dominant 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final Sunday night, scoring twice and assisting another in front of an unexpected guest — U.S. President Donald Trump.
Palmer, 23, was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player, adding to his growing list of accolades. But even he seemed surprised to see Trump standing on the podium alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Chelsea captain Reece James during the trophy ceremony.
“I knew he was going to be here, but I didn’t know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy, so I was a bit confused,” Palmer said.
Trump, wearing a red tie, was seen receiving a medal shortly after James was presented with his own. Infantino handed the former president the award before the ceremony concluded.
Palmer opened the scoring in the 22nd minute and added a second in the 30th — both with nearly identical left-footed strikes from just inside the box. He also assisted João Pedro’s goal in the 43rd minute, which sealed the win for the Blues.
“These are the games where we expect Cole to appear because they are big games, big moments,” Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said.
Maresca credited the club’s aggressive start for setting the tone early against the French champions.
“I think we won the game in the first 10 minutes,” Maresca said. “The message before the game was: let them understand that we are here to win.”
Chelsea’s opening goal followed a defensive error by PSG’s Nuno Mendes, whose misplayed header gave Malo Gusto a chance on goal. After his shot was blocked, Palmer pounced on the rebound and fired past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma — ending PSG’s 436-minute shutout streak.
The second goal came off a long pass from Levi Colwill, which Palmer controlled and finished after cutting inside from the right.
“It’s a great feeling,” Palmer said. “Even better because obviously everyone doubted us before the game. The gaffer put a great game plan out, and he knew where the space was going to be.”
Palmer, a rising English star, had previously notched two assists in Chelsea’s Europa Conference League final win over Real Betis and scored in the quarterfinal victory over Palmeiras. He also netted England’s lone goal in their Euro 2024 final loss to Spain.
His breakout year culminated with his image lighting up Times Square and Madison Square Garden in a Nike ad campaign featuring global icons Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Vinícius Júnior. The caption: “Scary Good.”
“It’s a nice feeling to be obviously alongside them type of players,” Palmer said.
With this performance, Palmer solidified his status as one of football’s most promising young talents — and helped bring Chelsea its first Club World Cup title since 2021.
