Chelsea's João Pedro celebrated his first start with a stellar performance on Tuesday, netting two goals to propel the Premier League club into the Club World Cup final after a 2-0 win against his childhood team, Fluminense.

The 23-year-old Brazilian forward, who joined from Brighton & Hove Albion for £60 million ($81.5 million) last week, opened the scoring with a stunning curled shot in the 18th minute and sealed the victory with an exceptional finish during a counter-attack early in the second half at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Chelsea will face the winner of the Real Madrid vs. Paris Saint-Germain semifinal, scheduled for Wednesday, in the final on Sunday.

"I'm thrilled to score my first goal for the club, but I recognize how important this tournament is," he said. "I can't apologize, but I must stay professional. I play for Chelsea now, and they count on me to score. Today, I'm glad I delivered."

Fluminense from Rio de Janeiro became the last non-European team eliminated in a tournament where all four Brazilian teams advanced to the knockout stage, with two reaching the quarterfinals.

After featuring in the 2023 final of the previous Club World Cup format, Fluminense's return was thwarted by one of their own academy graduates.

Pedro rose through Fluminense's youth ranks, made 25 appearances in Brazil's top league in 2019, then moved to England to play for Watford and later Brighton, before transferring to Chelsea this summer.

He made his Chelsea debut as a substitute in their second-round win over Palmeiras in Philadelphia last Friday, and in his first start on Tuesday, he needed just 18 minutes to put his former club on the back foot.

He initiated the attack himself, regaining possession in midfield and passing to Pedro Neto on the right. Neto's low cross into the box was only partially cleared to Pedro at the edge of the area, where he took two quick touches and unleashed a brilliant right-footed shot past Fábio into the top right corner.

His second goal in the 56th minute was even more impressive.

After latching onto Enzo Fernández's long ball down the left, Pedro dribbled into the left side of the box, evaded a defender to create space, and fired a powerful shot that hit the underside of the crossbar before going in past Fábio.

Fluminense had two key opportunities go awry in the first half.

In the 26th minute, Chelsea's Marc Cucurella cleared Hércules' shot off the goal line after beating goalkeeper Robert Sánchez.

In the 36th minute, referee Francois Letexier reversed his initial penalty call after a video review, determining that Trevoh Chalobah's arm was in a natural position.

European teams are set to claim their 12th consecutive Club World Cup title and 17th in 18 editions, with the only exception being Brazil's Corinthians defeating Chelsea in 2012; Chelsea won in 2021.

Chelsea will earn between $88,435,000 and $103,815,000 for reaching the final, depending on an undisclosed FIFA participation fee.

Despite a 3 p.m. local kickoff amid high summer temperatures on the U.S. east coast, over 70,000 fans packed the NFL stadium of the New York Jets and Giants for the semifinal.