PLAYER RATINGS | Seattle Sounders 0-2 PSG: European champions book passage into Round of 16 | OneFootball

FIFA Club World Cup, Group Stage, 23/06/25

Paris Saint-Germain booked their spot in the Round of 16 at the FIFA Club World Cup with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field. A victory for Atlético de Madrid over Botafogo would mean that PSG would end the group stage as winners of Group B.

The Match

It’s been hard to escape the feeling that Les Parisiens have played their previous two games at the Club World Cup with a friendly pace. The European champions have rarely entered second gear since touching down in the US, and this match proved to be no exception. Seattle came out with vigour, pressing high before the relentlessness of Luis Enrique’s well-oiled machine took over.

Despite this, the European Champions struggled to create too many clear-cut opportunities and looked reliant upon moments of magic from Désiré Doué to find a route through a compact wall of green shirts crowding their box. The winger had a couple of chances to test Stefan Frei’s goal, but couldn’t find the killer touch.

The opener would come in cruel circumstances for a Seattle side that had defended well. The hosts struggled to clear Nuno Mendes’s corner, and the ball trickled out to Vitinha waiting on the edge of the box. The midfielder’s strike was wide and on course to go out for a goalkick, but took a fortunate deflection, hitting Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the head and trickling into the back of the net.

There was little change in the shape of the game as the second half began. PSG moved the ball well and manoeuvred their way into dangerous positions. Kvaratskhelia marauded down the left, cutting a pass into Doué. The winger’s eyes lit up, but his shot was smothered by an excellent block from Nouhou Tolo.

Bradley Barcola would make an almost immediate impact from the bench, setting up PSG’s second of the evening only a minute after taking to the field for Kvaratskhelia. Les Parisiens launched a quick counter, going from their box to the opposition box in a matter of seconds. Barcola spotted the run of Achraf Hakimi and delivered a pass to the fullback, who took the opportunity to give PSG a comfortable lead.

PSG Player Ratings

Gianluigi Donnarumma, 5

Played himself into trouble in the first half and was fortunate that Jesus Ferreira didn’t take advantage of the gilt-edged opportunity. Outside of this moment, the Italian was largely untested throughout the game as Seattle were unable to deliver a shot on target.

Nuno Mendes, 6

Willian Pacho, 7

Marquinhos, 6

Achraf Hakimi, 7

Fabián Ruiz, 7

Vitinha, 7

His shooting was far from exact (although that certainly helped open the scoring as his shot pinballed off Kvaratskhelia), but he was constantly involved in the action, pulling the strings as PSG dominated possession.

João Neves, 7

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, 6

Senny Mayulu, 5

Désiré Doué, 8

It’ll be disappointing for the winger that he failed to score. However, he was by far the most exciting player on the pitch. PSG have struggled to lift their performances out of first gear at this tournament, but with Doué on the pitch, there is this constant threat.

Selected Seattle Sounders Player Ratings

Stefan Frei, 6

Nohou Tolo, 7

Jesus Ferreira, 4

GFFN | Nick Hartland