Club World Cup Preview: Seattle Sounders

In partnership with

Hooligan Soccer

·3. Juni 2025

Club World Cup Preview: Seattle Sounders

The eighth in our continuing series highlighting all the clubs in the FIFA Club World Cup, which starts on June 14th.

Club Background

From: Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
How They Qualified: Seattle were the (surprise) CONCACAF Champions Cup winners back in 2022, defeating the La Liga side UNAM 5 – 2 on aggregate.
Best CWC Finish: First time appearance.

Recent Form: It’s been a mixed bag since their 2022 win. They finished 21st, 7th and 7th overall in the three subsequent years, with playoff pushes into the quarter and semi-finals in ‘23 and ‘24. Currently they are 4th in the West, and 12th overall in the MLS.
Facts: The club was founded back in 1974, but they joined the MLS in 2009 as the 15th expansion team. They have only missed the playoffs once in their history (ironically, that was in 2022). Have won the MLS Cup twice (and are twice runners-up), and the U.S. Open four times (out of five tries). They are the only team in the tournament that has their own marching band, the Sound Wave.

The Team

Manager: Brian Schmetzer A former indoor soccer pro, Schmetzer has been with the Sounders organization since 2002 (seven years before they joined the MLS). He’s been head coach since 2016.
Star Players: Albert Rusnák Slovakian attacking midfielder. He missed most of April with injury, but still has 8g/3a in 19 games. Cristian Roldán Roldán and Odeb Vargas (see below) form a critical box-to-box midfield unit responsible for controlling Seattle’s game flow. Stefan Frei He’s a club legend with over 400 appearances for the green and turquoise. He was the 2022 CONCACAF Cup Player of the Tournament.
Young Players to Watch: Obed Vargas This 19 year old Mexican national is a true box-to-box midfield dynamo. The majority of their likely players get farmed out to the Tacoma Defiance to log playing time down in the USL League 2.

When to Watch

10:00pm ET on Jun 15, 2025 vs. Botafogo @ Lumen Field, Seattle, WA
6:00pm ET on Jun 19, 2025 vs. Atlético Madrid @ Lumen Field, Seattle, WA
3:00pm ET on Jun 23, 2025 vs. Paris Saint-Germain @ The Rose Bowl, Los Angeles, CA

The Hooligan Take

With injuries to key forwards Jordan Morris and Paul Arriola, their focus of attack has shifted from strikers to the midfield, and the team plays a 4-2-3-1 formation. The good news is that Seattle’s form has been steadily improving since the start of the season. Will that improvement be enough to see them advance out of the group? Not likely. It would be a true shock to see them in the Round of 16.