How Inter Miami, Seattle Sounders can advance to Club World Cup last 16 | OneFootball

While LAFC was officially eliminated from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in Friday's 1-0 defeat to ES Tunis, Inter Miami and the Seattle Sounders enter Matchday 3 of group play with their tournament prospects still alive.

Miami is in the driver's seat in Group A after its historic 2-1 win over FC Porto on Matchday 2 in Atlanta. Meanwhile, Seattle's hopes are far more remote, but not technically impossible, after they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Here's what each team needs from the final day of group play to secure a place in the knockout phase.

Inter Miami

For Miami, it's more about the scenario they need to avoid.

If Miami take a point or more from their third and final game against Palmeiras on Monday, they're guaranteed to advance.

If they lose, but FC Porto takes at least a point from their match against Al Ahly, Miami will still go through because Porto can only match Miami on points and would lose the head-to-head first tiebreaker.

The danger comes if Miami loses and Porto also loses to Al Ahly, which seems far more realistic now than it did a week ago, based on relatively strong performances from the Egyptian side and relatively weak ones from one of Portugal's two representatives.

If Al Ahly can catch Miami on points and surpass them on goal difference, or tie their goal difference and surpass their goals scored, then the Egyptians would go through. The good news is that would take Al Ahly scoring, which they have yet to do in their first two matches.

Seattle Sounders

The probability of Brian Schmetzer's group moving on is truly remote. But there have been several upsets already in this tournament, so it's at least worth addressing, however unlikely it may be.

To create a three-way tie at the bottom of the Group B table, Seattle would have to win its final match against reigning UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain.

But even if the Sounders pulled a remarkable upset, they would have to hold the superior goal difference across all games played between Seattle, Atletico Madrid, and PSG. Those totals currently:

If the Sounders somehow beat PSG by three goals to pull level on goal-differential, then the Sounders would own the straight head-to-head tiebreak against PSG and advance.

In case you're wondering, the last time PSG suffered a three-goal defeat came in a 4-1 loss at Newcastle United on Oct. 4, 2023, in the UEFA Champions League group stage.