ISLAMABAD: Brazilian side Botafogo marked their FIFA Club World Cup debut with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders on Sunday at Lumen Field, surviving a late charge from the home team to claim all three points in their Group B opener.
First-half headers from Jair Cunha and Igor Jesus put Botafogo in a commanding position before a deflected effort by Cristian Roldan in the 75th minute brought Seattle back into contention.
Despite a wave of pressure from the Sounders in the closing minutes, Botafogo’s goalkeeper John produced a crucial save in added time to secure the narrow win.
Freitas: “We Didn’t Play Well”
Botafogo captain Marlon Freitas admitted post-match that the performance was far from ideal.
“The important thing here was the result and the effort,” Freitas told TV Globo.
“But we know we didn’t play well. We have to learn lessons, both individually and collectively.”
He added that the win would help settle nerves but emphasized the need for improvement in upcoming matches.
Match Highlights and Standings
The Brazilian champions were dominant in the first half, with Seattle keeper Stefan Frei pulling off key saves to keep the scoreline respectable.
However, he could do little to stop Cunha’s 27th-minute opener, a powerful header off a pinpoint free kick from Alex Telles after a foul on Artur near the edge of the box.
Igor Jesus made it 2-0 just before halftime, climbing above Seattle’s defense to meet a cross from Vitinho and finding the bottom corner.
Seattle had a chance to respond in the 55th minute, but Ryan Kent squandered a close-range opportunity.
Roldan’s 75th-minute header, deflected off Igor Jesus, wrong-footed Botafogo’s goalkeeper and gave Seattle hope.
The hosts pushed hard in the final minutes, but Botafogo held their ground.
With this result, Botafogo sit second in Group B behind Paris Saint-Germain, who earlier defeated Atletico Madrid 4-0.
Botafogo will next face PSG, while Seattle take on Atletico on Thursday.
