Botafogo-RJ – Seattle Sounders

The Brazilian team will play better than the home team on the pitch

Botafogo, representing Brazil's Serie A, earned the right to play in the Club World Cup by winning the 2024 Libertadores Cup. The Rio de Janeiro-based club added this title to winning the national championship. Botafogo has not previously played in this tournament, but it's hard to consider a club with a rich history and such last year's trophies a newcomer. As for history, Seattle Sounders is not even close to having traditions similar to the upcoming opponent. The team from Washington State was founded in 2007, and has been playing in MLS since 2009. The Sounders earned the right to play in the Club World Cup as the winner of the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League. This success was the club's greatest achievement in its short history. On its own, this would be the team's second participation in the Club World Cup. The first campaign in 2022 was interrupted for Seattle in the first round by a defeat from Al Ahli. Bookmakers have identified the nominal hosts of the field as favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 2.04 on their victory. Botafogo, after a triumphant last season, has somewhat surrendered in the level of performances. It is possible that this is due to forcing the team's playing form for the matches of the Club World Cup. This cannot be ruled out at all, as Botafogo came to the United States with an active three-game winning streak. At the end of May, the Brazilians defeated Universidad de Chile in the Libertadores Cup, securing a playoff berth in the tournament, and in early June they picked up two Serie A victories. Santos were beaten on the road. In the national championship Botafogo is in eighth place, after eleven rounds behind the leader on six points. Seattle Sounders crashed out of the CONCACAF Champions League at the 1/8 finals stage in March 2025. Mexico's Cruz Azul beat three more opponents after that one, making them the winner of North America's premier tournament. Last MLS draw Seattle finished in fourth position before reaching the semi-finals, where they lost to Los Angeles. Now Sounders performs even more modestly, occupying sixth place in the championship after eighteen matches. Botafogo has a much higher class, which will help it to beat the hosts of the stadium.