Despite losing to Atletico Madrid in the last round of the group stage, Botafogo secured the classification for the round of 16 of the Club World Cup. The team led by Renato Paiva finished second in group B, behind PSG. The performance of the Rio team was sufficient to overcome the tiebreaker and phase criteria.
With this, Botafogo keeps the dream of the world title alive. The club now awaits the outcome of Group A to meet the next opponent, who can be Palmeiras, Inter Miami, Porto or Al-Ahly, as everyone still has mathematical chances of classification.
The most likely scenario points to a confrontation with Palmeiras in the round of 16. If it is realized, it would be the first duel between Brazilian clubs in this edition of the tournament.
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What do Palmeiras need to advance?
Palmeiras, the current leader of Group A, depends only on a draw against Inter Miami to confirm the first position of the key. With four points won in the first two rounds, the team led by Abel Ferreira arrives with the advantage for the last round. If you tie, advance first; If you win, confirm the lead with time off.
A defeat can complicate the alviverde club’s plans. If you lose to Inter, Palmeiras will need to cheer for parallel results so as not to fall to second place or even risk elimination. In this scenario, the result between Porto and Al-Ahly will be decisive for the future of the São Paulo club in the competition.
A port victory over Al-Ahly, for example, would force Palmeiras to observe the goal balance, which is the second tiebreaker after direct confrontation. Currently, the Portuguese team has a negative balance (-1), while Verdon has a positive balance (+2), which gives a certain margin of safety to the Brazilian team.
Criteria favor Verdon
If Palmeiras loses by a goal difference and Porto beat Al-Ahly also for a goal, both clubs would draw with four points and would have the same goal balance. In this case, the direct confrontation criterion would come into action, favoring Verdon, which beat the Egyptians in the previous round. This detail prevents the direct elimination of the São Paulo team, even in the event of a defeat combined with the victory of Al-Ahly.
Therefore, even with the possibility of losing the lead, Palmeiras will hardly leave the competition in the group stage. The team has an advantage in the tiebreaker and depends mainly on themselves to follow the key to the key. Still, a defeat can change the intersection in the round of 16.
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Botafogo and Palmeiras games at the World Cup
Group a
- 06/15 – Palmeiras 0 x 0 Porto – 1st round
- 06/19 – Palmeiras 2 x 0 Al Ahly – 2nd round
- 06/23 – Inter Miami x Palmeiras – 3rd round
| Time | J | V | E | D | GM | GS | SG | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm trees | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Inter Miami | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Porto | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | –1 | 1 |
| Al Ahly | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | –2 | 1 |
Group b
- 06/15 – Botafogo 2 x 1 Seattle Sounders – 1st round
- 06/19 – PSG 0 x 1 Botafogo – 2nd round
- 23/06 – Atletico de Madrid 1 x 0 Botafogo – 3rd round
| Time | J | V | E | D | GM | GC | SG | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSG | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Botafogo | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Atlético Madrid | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | –1 | 6 |
| Seattle Sounders | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | –5 | 0 |
