Seattle Sounders are back on the international stage, set to compete in the Club World Cup this June. Drawn into Group B, they’ll face Botafogo, Atlético Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain at Lumen Field, with all eyes on whether the Rave Green can defy expectations and make a statement on home soil.
1) Who will Seattle Sounders face at the Club World Cup?
Seattle Sounders have been drawn into Group B and these are their group stage fixtures:
15 June: vs Botafogo. Lumen Field, Seattle.
19 June: vs Atlético Madrid. Lumen Field, Seattle.
23 June: vs Paris Saint-Germain. Lumen Field, Seattle.
2) Early beginnings and MLS success
Did you know, this is actually the third incarnation of the Seattle Sounders? They originally competed in the North American Soccer League between 1974 and 1983 until the league folded, before a phoenix club featured in the also now defunct USL First Division from 1994 to 2008.
The Sounders then began MLS play in 2009, making an immediate impact, winning three straight U.S. Open Cup trophies straight away, a streak that only came to an end after they were beaten on penalties by Sporting Kansas City in the 2012 final.
After being crowned Supporters' Shield winners in 2014, the Rave Greens' most-successful period came between 2016 and 2020, reaching four out of five MLS Cups.
Astonishingly, in each of the first three, they faced Toronto FC, winning a dramatic penalty shootout in Canada in 2016, before being battered 2-0 when they returned to Ontario 12 months later. Nevertheless, the Sounders got their hands on MLS Cup for a second time in 2019, beating Toronto 3-1 at home, before losing 3-0 to Columbus Crew in Ohio in 2020.
3) Crowned kings of CONCACAF
To add to all this domestic silverware, the Sounders won the CONCACAF Champions League back in 2022, a triumph that saw them qualify for this summer's Club World Cup.
Following a 2-2 draw on the road in Mexico City in the first leg of the final, Seattle smashed Pumas UNAM 3-0 back at Lumen Field, thereby becoming the first, and still only, American team since Los Angeles Galaxy all the way back in 2000 to win CONCACAF's most prestigious club competition.
4) The 2025 season so far
So far in 2025, Seattle's form has been solid if unspectacular. Very early on in the campaign, they were dumped out in the CONCACAF Champions Cup round of 16, demolished 4-1 by eventual winners Cruz Azul at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario.
Meantime, in Major League Soccer, the Rave Green are currently sixth in the west, but 13th in the overall standings, having won seven and lost six of their 18 outings to date. Following back-to-back 1-0 home wins over FC Dallas and San Diego, their bubble was rather burst a bit by a 3-2 home defeat at the hands of Minnesota United on 1 June. This, remarkably, was their first defeat at Lumen Field in any competition since 17 August, since defeat against fellow-Club World Cup participants LAFC.
Then, last Sunday, they were smashed 3-0 by Cascadia rivals Vancouver Whitecaps, seeing Nouhou and Jon Bell sent off within two minutes of each-other just over the border in Canada; not the confidence-boosting result they were looking for!
5) Past Club World Cup expirence
The Sounders have previously featured at one edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, playing just a solitary game in the competition. Back in February, they were comprehensively beaten by Al Ahly in Ṭangier, the match far more one-sided than the 1-0 scoreline would otherwise suggest.
6) Injuries set to impede this team
The Sounders are already up against it going into the Club World Cup, so their current injury situation certainly isn't helping matters. Jordan Morris, who became the Rave Green's all-time record goalscorer earlier this year, has not featured since 27 April due to a hamstring injury, meaning his participation in this tournament is in serious doubt.
Fellow-forward Paul Arriola, who arrived during the winter window, ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in Mexico in March so is sidelined long-term, while centre-backs Yeimar Gómez and Kim Kee-hee, who could feasibly be the starting duo, are also currently injured.
7) Seattle Sounders players to watch: Nouhou Tolo
In terms of who could feature this summer, few are more synonymous with the Sounders' success than Nouhou. Since arriving from Rainbow Bamenda in his native Cameroon a decade ago, he has made 260 appearances for the club, scoring just his second goal against St. Louis City last month.
To describe Nouhou has a very attacking left-back would probably be an understatement, given that he is one of their primary attacking threats, despite ostensibly being a defender.
8) Seattle Sounders players to watch: Albert Rusnák
Meantime, the Sounders' top-scorer in 2025 is attacking midfielder Albert Rusnák.
Since arriving from Real Salt Lake in 2022, the Slovakian international has scored 30 goals in 140 appearances, but eight of these have come this year, so can he keep this red hot form going?
9) Manager Brian Schmetzer: Seattle through and through
Manager Brian Schmetzer has been in charge of Seattle Sounders since 2016, overseeing 359 matches to date, making him the longest-serving current coach in MLS by three and a half years.
Few people are more closely associated to their club and their city than Schmetzer, who was born and raised in Seattle, playing for the Sounders in the NASL, before coaching the club in USL. After the team joined Major League Soccer, he was the assistant manager to the late great Sigi Schmid, before taking the head coach position nigh on a decade ago, meaning this is very much his team, his club and his city.
10) Are Seattle Sounders destine to be pointless?
Seattle Sounders will play all three matches on home turf at Lumen Field, first taking on Botafogo before welcoming both Atlético Madrid and then Paris Saint-Germain to the Pacific Northwest.
Fair to say, the Rave Green are enormous underdogs in Group B, with many forecasting they'll lose all three fixtures, so the Sounders supporters are going to have to really show up and create a hostile atmosphere, with huge crowds expected.