Club World Cup Team Betting Predictions: Seattle Sounders

Seattle Sounders' success at the 2022 Concacaf Champions Cup saw the American side named as one of the 32 participants at this summer's 2025 Fifa Club World Cup in the States.

Below are my Seattle Sounders Fifa Club World Cup 2025 predictions, as I weigh up their chances of progressing past the group stage.

Group B: PSG, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders

Fixtures: Botafogo vs Seattle Sounders (03:00 BST, June 16), Seattle Sounders vs Atletico Madrid (23:00 BST, June 19), Seattle Sounders vs PSG (20:00 BST, June 23)

Player to watch: Albert Rusnak

The Sounders have been one of Major League Soccer's most consistent sides, finishing in the Western Conference top four in eight of the last nine seasons, although their last MLS Cup win was back in 2019.

Brian Schmetzer's side finished fourth in last year's Western Conference before knocking out Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles FC in the MLS Cup play-offs, although they were denied a spot in the final by LA Galaxy.

Seattle have started the current domestic campaign well, picking up 26 points from their first 18 MLS games, although they have suffered back-to-back defeats in the competition this month and experienced disappointment in the Concacaf Champions Cup, losing 4-1 on aggregate to eventual champions Cruz Azul in March.

Many of the Sounders' squad from their 2022 Concacaf Champions Cup win, who also gained continental experience at the 2022 Club World Cup, remain at the club, including goalkeeper Stefan Frei, forward Jordan Morris, and midfielders Cristian Roldan and Obed Vargas.

Club World Cup 2025 Odds

However, that experience is likely to count for very little, with the Sounders drawn in a very unfortunate group headed by reigning Champions League winners PSG. Also in Group B are Atletico Madrid, led by the wily Diego Simeone, who finished third in La Liga this season, and are considered an outside shot to lift the trophy on July 13.

Then there's Brazilian side Botafogo, who were crowned champions of South America last year, beating Atletico Mineiro in the 2024 Copa Libertadores final.

The Sounders are long odds to finish in the top two and qualify from Group B, let alone win the thing, so it's fair to say expectations around the side are low heading into the tournament, although you can bet there will be more belief inside the camp.

Player to watch: Albert Rusnak

Once on the books of Manchester City, spending time on loan at Oldham Athletic and Birmingham City in the 2013/14 season, 37-cap Slovakia international Albert Rusnak has carved out quite the career in the States since leaving Europe in 2017.

The attacking midfielder joined Real Salt Lake from Dutch side FC Groningen and went on to make 146 appearances, scoring 42 times before sealing a switch to the Sounders in 2022. He only scored eight goals in 64 MLS outings across his first two seasons in Seattle, but he stepped up big time last year, netting 10 times and registering 16 assists in 35 league games.

Rusnak already has seven goals and three assists to his name in the MLS this season, and arrives at this summer tournament with five goals in his last seven starts.

The 30-year-old is a crucial component of the Sounders' attack, and he will have to be on top form if his side have any chance of making the knockouts.

Football Odds

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Prediction: Fourth in Group B

I'm not expecting the Sounders to roll over and receive a hat-trick of hammerings, but I do think they will find it difficult to finish third, let alone in the top two and qualify for the last 16.

Quite simply, there is just too much quality within the PSG and Atletico Madrid ranks, while Botafogo will be a tough team to overcome, too. The Sounders face the Brazilians in the first group game, and the outcome of that fixture will be crucial to how the rest of their tournament unfolds. A defeat to Fogo, and the Americans could be left with a grand total of zero points to their name by the end of the group stage.

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