Club World Cup: Seattle Sounders show they belong vs. Botafogo | OneFootball

By Ari Liljenwall

SEATTLE – A resurgent second half wasn’t quite enough for Seattle Sounders FC, who opened Group B play in the 2025 FIFA Club World Club with a narrow 2-1 defeat against Botafogo at Lumen Field on Sunday evening.

After conceding twice in the first half against the storied Brazilian outfit, the match seemed in danger of slipping away from the Rave Green. Instead, they nearly gave a lively home crowd a result to remember.

Midfielder Cristian Roldan halved the deficit with a 75th-minute header, setting the stage for a frantic final 15 minutes that saw Seattle come tantalizingly close to a leveling goal.

“At 2-0 you have nothing to lose, right?” Roldan told reporters in the post-match mixed zone. “We talked about keeping that scoreline at [2-0] and giving ourselves a chance to get back in the game.

“We felt that if we got one goal, we could ride that momentum and potentially make a game out of it."

Turning up the dial

The result leaves Seattle with an uphill climb to emerge from a stacked Group B, which also includes Spanish powerhouse Atlético Madrid and UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain.

Although their comeback bid fell just short on Sunday, winger Paul Rothrock said his side can take some "good lessons" from their second-half response as they prepare to face two European juggernauts.

“Anyone who's watched our team before, and watched [us] this season, we turned up the dial a little bit on our intensity today, and hopefully we can continue to do that throughout the tournament and carry that on to the rest of the season,” Rothrock said.

“It's a really exciting opportunity to get to play Atlético and we're going to focus on that first, and then the best team in the world, PSG,” he continued. “So I think we're going to approach the games the same way, I still believe we have a chance to make it out of the group depending on how these next two games go. I think we learned some good lessons today.”

World-class opposition

PSG flexed their tournament favorite credentials in their Group B opener, routing Atlético 4-0 at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles.

That leaves Atlético seeking a get-right result in Thursday's trip to Lumen FIeld, providing perhaps an even loftier test for the Sounders, who qualified for the tournament via their historic 2022 Concacaf Champions Cup title.

“I would love to see a performance where we bring intensity, we show that can compete at that level,” Roldan said after battling the reigning Brasileiro Série A and Copa Libertadores champions.

“We show that not only can we compete not only from an intensity and an athletic standpoint, but from a tactical standpoint, playing out of the back, show that this league is good enough at the world stage. I think that's what this tournament is all about.”

Our best shot

While Seattle will be underdogs in each of the next two matchups, homegrown midfielder Obed Vargas said they're relishing the opportunity.

“I can tell you one thing: I won't be a fan whenever we play them," Vargas said of Atlético. "I'm going to be motivated to beat them and do as much as I can to beat them.

“And then playing the Champions League winners, you saw the game today – 4-nil. They are a powerhouse. We just have to go out there and try and compete as best as we can."