Botafogo made waves last Thursday at Rose Bowl Stadium in Los Angeles and it seemed only fitting that a man named Jesus would work the miracle of bringing Paris Saint-Germain back down to earth. With the only goal of the game, Igor Jesus, to christen him properly, put an end to a six-match winning streak for the Parisian side that included their historic UEFA Champions League final triumph over FC Internazionale Milano.
However, as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia recalled, they also suffered similar setbacks in the 2024-25 season, so there’s no need to hit the panic button: “As long as we play our game, we’re capable of beating anyone,” asserted the Georgian ahead of PSG’s final-day clash against Seattle Sounders FC on Monday at FIFA Club World Cup 2025™.
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In advance of that decisive match-up against the winners of the 2022 Concacaf Champions Cup, Luis Enrique’s men can take heart from some statistics: even though they’ve lost just eight of the 60 matches they played in the 2024-25 season, they always managed to bounce back.
In fact, the Parisians secured six wins and two draws following defeats. “We just need to keep going, because we’re a great team,” said 19-year-old midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery. “We’re going to qualify and continue in this competition.”
To do so, PSG will look to beat the Sounders on their home turf, a ground where the American outfit fell just short against Botafogo and Atlético de Madrid. Aside from the main issue at hand – a spot in the last 16 – this third matchday will give the French team another chance to test themselves against a different style of football from another continent, which is always an interesting prospect, according to Zaire-Emery.
“Although our squad is very diverse in terms of nationalities, we need to learn from that experience as a French team,” he explained. “For example, you sometimes need a more streetwise mentality on the pitch, which is where the Latin American teams excel.”
While the Sounders are unlikely to be as crafty as Botafogo, the match promises plenty of intense physical battles, while PSG will be more than aware that the Sounders have to win by a margin of three goals or more to stand a chance of progressing . “Our fate is in our own hands,” noted Zaïre-Emery. “We need to win to secure qualification.”
