Seattle eyes the Club World Cup and the group of death | OneFootball

As a logistical matter, tickets to the Club World Cup have had issues. The players and owners are arguing about how to slice up the profits, and politics has limited access for fans to visit the United States and spend money to support our flailing economy. There is a lot of noise out there that distracts from what kind of opportunity it is to observe this spectacle.

Assuming that the protests over compensation don't interrupt games being played, Seattle is about to embark on an epic 8 days with the possibility to expand it. It is a tournament that incorporates the best teams in the world, and as clubs, they play with their teams for much longer than national teams and generally have much better cohesion.

For Sounders fans, they find themselves as the underdogs in the "group of death." Realistically, they have no chance at progressing into the next stage, but what if? What if they can advance? What would that mean for the MLS and for the Sounders? The Sounders have one of, if not the best fan bases in the MLS. What if they are treated to a Miracle? If you can picture it, it is possible.

Perhaps as the fans are reciting Roll on Columbia they score in the twelfth minute of the game and hold on, creating a shell similar to that of Minnesota and Vancouver in their recent games. If they can manage that twice, that could be enough to move on. If you can envision such a scenario, being at the game is world the swollen prices for witnessing history.

First up is Botafogo, currently ranked 9th out of 20 teams in Brazil's top league. Botafogo is based in the city of Rio de Janeiro and is recognized as one of the strongest teams in soccer history. More recently in 2024, Botafogo was recognized by the IFFHS as the Best Club in South America and the 5th Best Club in the World.

They have won the Brazilian Championship three times, most recently in 2024, they also won the Copa Libertadores in 2024, as well as some older records. They set the record for the longest string of unbeaten matches at 52, as well as the most unbeaten matches in the Brazilian Championship at 42. They have the most call-ups out of any Brazilian team and won one game 24-0 (it was in 1909). Beating them is a daunting task for any team and just one opponent for Seattle in the "group of death."

Athletico Madrid is next on the schedule. Atlético are one of the most successful Spanish clubs, having won 11 La Liga titles, including a league and cup title in the same year. They have won 10 Copa del Rey titles, two Supercopas de España, one Copa Presidente FEF and one Copa Eva Duarte. They have also won numerous titles in Europe, including the European Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Super Cup 3 times, and 1974 Intercontinental Cup. They have also reached the finals 3 times in the UEFA Champions League. Their main rivals are Barcelona and Real Madrid, and they are constantly in the conversation of the best team on the planet.

Then there is PSG, Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain from the top division of French soccer. They are the most decorated club in France and are generally considered the countries biggest, most popular, and most successful club. They have won 53 major trophies including the Champions League Cup title that they secured with a 5-0 win against Inter, marking them as the best team in the world.

To give an idea of the disparity, the 12th highest salary for PSG is listed at 8.3 million compared to the 12th highest salary for the Sounders being 150 thousand. The top paid player for PSG is making 18 million dollars a year compared to the combined 11.4 million made by all of the Sounders' roster.

So, take the odds into account and image if Seattle advanced, it could be the greatest Cinderella story of all time. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that.

Hopefully, the Sounders will have Morris, Yeimar, and Kee-hee back from the injured list and they can pull off an upset or two or...