How Sounders can still advance out of Club World Cup’s ‘Group of Death’
SEATTLE – An absurd $9.5 million payday is possible for the Sounders on Monday.
The hometown club still has a pulse in the FIFA men’s Club World Cup’s morosely tagged “Group of Death.” To resurrect themselves from the bottom of Group B, Seattle needs to defeat the European champion Paris Saint-Germain by a three-goal margin and receive a lifeline in the form of reigning South American champion Botafogo beating Spain’s Atlético Madrid.
It’s the only scenario that will advance the Sounders to the 32-team tournament’s Round of 16. The tiebreaker would be head-to-head matchups.
Soccer’s governing body announced in March that winners of group-stage matches will earn $2 million and clubs that advance to the knockout rounds receive $7.5 million. Earnings increase as the tournament progresses with the winner of the final set for July 13 getting an additional $40 million.
Both Group B matches kick off at noon on Monday. The Sounders (0-2) host PSG (1-1) at Lumen Field while unbeaten Botafogo (2-0) plays Atléti (1-1) at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif.
Seattle stayed alive with Botafogo’s upset 1-0 win over PSG on Thursday. It was the Parisian side’s first loss since early May, a month that ended with the club winning its league title, the Coupe de France and first UEFA Champions League trophy.
Perhaps the giants are gassed after logging 60 matches this year? PSG had 72% possession of the ball against Botafogo and only carved two shots on target.
PSG is also playing without Ballon d’Or contender Ousmane Dembele due to a thigh injury. There’s a chance he plays Monday because his side needs a point to get out of group play.
The Sounders don’t have anything tangible to grasp onto to give them hope. The club is on a four-game losing streak, through all competitions. It’s their longest slump since 2013, which were all in MLS play.
“The players showed courage,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said after the 3-1 loss to Atlético on Thursday.
Seattle was down 2-0 when midfielder Albert Rusnák scored in the 50th minute. Pablo Barrios deflated the Sounders five minutes later with his second goal of the match.
“They were down, and they were able to come back and still fight and play brave,” Schmetzer continued. “Atlético’s strength is in their transition and their counterattacks. We weren’t afraid to attack. That opened us up a few times, but at the end of the day, the players played to win. That was courage.”
What’s the cut?
Mr. Monopoly made an appearance Thursday. The Emerald City Supporters held up a small tifo after halftime with the board game’s mascot wearing a hat imprinted with “MLS” and money pouch that read “FIFA.”
The graphic was a nod to the Sounders players wearing T-shirts with the wording “Club World Ca$h Grab” in protest of a collective bargaining agreement clause that caps their tournament earnings at $1 million. Since the CBA was ratified in 2021, the league has renegotiated other terms and even renegotiated bonuses for the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2024.
MLS proposed an 80-20% split for CWC performance earnings, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations. Meaning, if the Sounders were to win and advance Monday, the locker room would be awarded $1.9 million – approximately $73,000 apiece for the 26-player CWC roster.
Sounders ownership, led by Adrian Hanauer would receive $7.6 million to put into soccer operations as required by FIFA. That’s in addition to the $9.55 million participation payout, of which $1 million goes to the locker room.
Neither side set a deadline to resume negotiations.
Respectable in goal
Atléti coach Diego Simeone tipped his hat to Sounders keeper Stefan Frei for the opening-half performance Thursday.
“(My) team played 30 very good, very good minutes where they could have scored three or four goals,” said Simeone of the first half, as translated from Spanish. “Between the good performance of their goalkeeper and the fact that we couldn’t be forceful, we were only 1-0 up.”
Frei had four saves in the match. He also tipped a heater from distance off frame, but it hit the crossbar, wasn’t cleared by his backline and was headed into goal.
The 39-year-old keeper also had four saves in the 2-1 loss to Botafogo to open group play. But the team has been outscored 11-4, through all competitions, this month.
“As a team, we’re OK mentally,” Sounders forward Jesús Ferreira said Thursday. “We would want to win games to show the fans we can compete against the best of the best. But throughout the games, we’ve shown that we can compete in moments. As a team, we have to show that for a longer period of time.”