FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Botafogo upsets PSG, Messi leads Inter Miami over Porto
The 2025 Club World Cup continued to bring some excitment on Thursday. As Groups A and B completed the second of three group stage games, the round brought four wins, including a key comeback and one stunning upset.
After a pair of ties to kick off the stage, Group A remains up for grabs with wins for Palmeiras and Inter Miami on Thursday. Group B, meanwhile, was also thrown into chaos: Though Atlético Madrid cruised to a win over the Seattle Sounders to keep their hopes alive, Botafogo shocked PSG with a narrow win to move ahead in the group.
Thursday's FIFA Club World Cup results
Palmeiras 2, Al Ahly 0:
An own goal opened up the scoring for Palmeiras and allowed them to take the lead in Group A with four points. After Al Ahly's Wessam Abou Ali unintentionally grazed the ball past his keeper in the 49th minute, Jose Manuel Lopez padded the lead with a goal in the 59th. The Brazilian side scored with their only shot on target (10 total). Al Ahly failed to get on the scoreboard, despite having eight shots with two in-frame.
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Inter Miami 2, Porto 1:
Lionel Messi's magic left foot sealed the deal for Inter Miami as they overcame Porto to secure their first win of the Club World Cup. A beautifully placed free kick from just outside the box broke the deadlock from Porto's Samu Aghehowa in the 8th minute and Miami's Talasco Segovia in the 47th. The Argentine curled the ball over the Porto wall and past Claudio Ramos to take three points for the Herons.
Atlético Madrid 3, Sounders 1:
It only took 11 minutes for Atlético to break through on the lopsided matchup, with midfielder Pablo Barrios giving the team a 1-0 lead off a strong, bouncing strike. But for a while, the Sounders stayed in the game, thwarting several key opportunities to keep Atlético from adding to the score in the first half. Just a few minutes into the second, another bouncing shot gave Atlético the 2-0 lead, as halftime substitute Axel Witsel hit a header off the rebound. Though the Sounders struck right back, with Albert Rusnák getting a goal to cut into Atlético's lead, Barrios hit his second of the game to take a 3-1 lead. Seattle may have put up a fight, but in the end, Atlético was simply the better team.
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Botafogo 1, Paris Saint-Germain 0:
Group B is quickly turning into the wildest group in the tournament, as Botafogo picked up a thrilling upset over PSG to throw the standings out of order. Botafogo stunned PSG with an early 1-0 lead, with striker Igor Jesus scoring in the 36th minute. PSG, the reigning UEFA champions, spent the rest of the game desperately trying to equalize, but could not break Botafogo's back line. The Brazilian club held on to secure the brilliant 1-0 win — the first real upset of the tournament so far — and move to the top of the group.
Highlight of the day
Group A and Group B Standings
Group A
1
Palmeiras
1-1-0
2
4
2
Inter Miami
1-1-0
1
4
3
Porto
0-1-1
-1
1
4
Al Ahly
0-1-1
-2
1
Group B
1
Botafogo
2-0-0
2
6
2
PSG
1-0-1
3
3
3
Atlético Madrid
1-0-1
-2
3
4
Seattle Sounders
0-0-2
-3
0
Tomorrow's schedule: Friday, June 20
Group X: Team v Team at Field in City; TIME on TV channel
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Group C: Benfica v Auckland City at Inter & Co Stadium in Orlando; 12 p.m. ET on DAZN
Group D: Flamengo v Chelsea at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia; 2 p.m. ET on DAZN/TNT/truTV
Group D: LAFC v ES Tunis at Geodis Park in Nashville; 6 p.m. ET on DAZN
Group C: Bayern v Boca Juniors at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami; 9 p.m. ET on DAZN/TBS
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