After Inter Miami's goalless draw against Al Ahly, the second MLS team to make their Club World Cup debut was Seattle Sounders, the only team to play all three games in front of their home fans. The opening game was marked by a physical display that did the fans proud at the Seattle FIeld, but Botafogo emerged victorious 2-1.
Seattle tried to be very aggressive in the first few minutes and created some good chances thanks to Jesús Ferreira's good movement down the right. However, the reigning Libertadores champions took the lead in the match, controlling possession and showing plenty of intensity until they opened the scoring in the 26th minute, with Jair rising unmarked after a free-kick.
Too brave to look for a reaction in the first half, Seattle Sounders ended up being very exposed when they conceded their second goal before the break, again through an aerial ball, when Vitinho received Artur's pass and laid it on for Igor Jesus (a future Nottingham Forest player in the Premier League) to complete in the corner.
Seattle Sounders dominated Botafogo in the second half
Just when it looked like we were going to have a very negative performance again for an MLS team, the Seattle Sounders took advantage of the opposing coach's wrong tactical moves and took control of the offensive actions in the second half, having much more of the ball. Meanwhile, the reigning South American champions lost their intent and were dominated in midfield.
With one of the longest-serving jobs in world soccer at the moment, coach Brian Schmetzer made the right changes and saw Seattle create several chances before finding the net in the 75th minute. Rothrock got down the left flank and crossed the ball to Roldán, who took a firm touch and had it deflected off Igor Jesus for goalkeeper John to concede.
Joaquín Corrêa (a former Inter Milan player) even had a clear chance to score, but Frei pulled off an excellent save. And in the last move, De La Vega stopped goalkeeper John with his final shot. As a result, Seattle Sounders can put more faith in their squad and fight for a place in the last 16.