Soccer-PSG go from European glory to Club World Cup woe

The Star

4 hours ago

Soccer Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Group B - Paris St Germain v Botafogo - Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, California, U.S. - June 19, 2025 Botafogo's John and Alexander Barboza celebrate after the match as Paris St Germain's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia looks dejected REUTERS/Daniel Cole
MIAMI (Reuters) -European champions Paris St Germain arrived at the Club World Cup aiming to be crowned kings of the global game but defeat by Botafogo on Thursday showed the tournament will be a true test of their mettle and not just a celebratory lap of honour.
The Ligue 1 winners went down 1-0 to Brazilian champions Botafogo at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, a result that threw Group B wide open and deflated the mood in the PSG camp after their emphatic 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid in their opener.
Desire Doue, who scored twice in PSG's 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in the Champions League final last month, said failing to take their chances had cost them.
"We weren't efficient," the attacking midfielder said.
"We had a lot of chances. They only had two or three shots and they scored. They were very efficient in front of our goal."
Botafogo's compact, aggressive approach exposed signs of fatigue in PSG's ranks after a long season in domestic and European football.
They had adjusted their schedule in California to allow players afternoons off to recover between training sessions.
Coach Luis Enrique also rotated his squad, starting without regulars Joao Neves, Nuno Mendes, Fabian Ruiz and Marquinhos, who were introduced after halftime in search of a spark.
But even with the reinforcements PSG failed to break through a determined Botafogo defence. The decisive moment came in the 36th minute when Igor Jesus beat Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Luis Enrique did not look for excuses and praised the Copa Libertadores champions for their approach.
"Botafogo were the best defensive side we've come up against all season — both in our league and in the Champions League. They were excellent," the Spaniard said.
"They were simply highly efficient, very compact, and always had the threat of hitting us in transition. They scored a great goal through Jesus, and that gave them a real injection of belief.
"We didn't create the number of chances we're used to. We're very accustomed to working against teams defending deep — but it's always difficult to break one down. In this case, Botafogo did it very well, and I congratulate them for it."
Despite enjoying long spells of possession, PSG lacked their usual sharpness and Doue said the defeat should serve as a wake-up call.
"We raised our level in the duels, but it was efficiency that was missing tonight. This match has to help us bounce back. Nothing is finished, we have another match and we're going to win it."
PSG face Seattle Sounders in their final group game on Monday and Luis Enrique did not expect things to get any easier.
"This is a very difficult competition. Every match will be like this," he added.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford;)