Los Angeles: Atletico Madrid became the first European team to be eliminated from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup despite Antoine Griezmann’s late goal helping the Spanish club beat Brazil’s Botafogo 1-0 in Group B on Monday.
The narrow victory was not enough to send the Spanish side into the knockout stage, as three teams finished with six points in the group. Atletico was edged out on goal difference, finishing third behind Paris Saint-Germain and Botafogo.
Atletico dominated the match with 22 shots but struggled to convert until the 87th minute, when Griezmann slotted home a low cross from Julian Alvarez to break the deadlock, reports Xinhua.
Botafogo, the reigning South American champions, employed a deep defensive setup and relied on quick counterattacks, producing four shots – three of them on target – all of which were denied by Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
The match’s most controversial moment came in first-half stoppage time when Alvarez was brought down in the box. However, after a VAR review, the referee opted not to award a penalty, prompting heated protests from the Atletico bench.
“Every refereeing decision in this tournament went against us,” Atletico head coach Diego Simeone criticized the referee’s decision in the post-match press conference.
“We had the same number of points as the Champions League winner and Libertadores winner, but we missed out because of the match against Paris Saint-Germain, where every decision always went against us. We’re close. We’re competing well, but we still need a little more,” he added.
In the other Group B match, which kicked off at the same time, Paris Saint-Germain eased past the Seattle Sounders 2-0. The result saw Paris Saint-Germain top the group, ahead of Botafogo on goal difference.
Botafogo coach Renato Paiva said that few people in Brazil would have believed they could qualify from the difficult group before the start of the tournament. “Now we did what no one expected. We have to thank the Botafogo fans, and we have to be proud for Brazilian football,” he said.
(IANS)
