Atletico Madrid knocked out despite win over Botafogo | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid have crashed out of the FIFA Club World Cup, becoming the first European side to do so, despite edging Botafogo 1-0 in Pasadena.

Needing to win by at least three goals to reach the knockout stage, Diego Simeone’s men found it tough going against a well-drilled Brazilian outfit that held firm for most of the contest.

Botafogo had a golden chance to open the scoring early on when Jefferson Savarino was played through, but Jan Oblak was quick off his line and managed to block the effort with a sharp save.

Just before the break, Atletico nearly broke the deadlock through Julián Álvarez. The forward brought down a pass near the box, spun into space and let fly, but his strike flew just wide of the post.

After the restart, Atletico kept pushing. Griezmann looked lively, cutting in from the left and beating his marker before trying to squeeze a shot in at the near post - only to see it come back off the woodwork.

The breakthrough finally came in the dying minutes, with Griezmann firing home from close range. But with time running out and goal difference still against them, it wasn’t enough.

Botafogo now move on to the Last 16, where they’ll face the winners of Group A, while Atletico’s Club World Cup journey comes to an early end.