PSG vow to bounce back from Botafogo upset in Club World Cup

PASADENA – Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique believes that his team are more than capable of turning their fortunes around when things do not go their way.

The Champions League winners suffered a shock 1-0 Club World Cup loss to Brazilian side Botafogo on June 19, in a hard-fought battle between the champions of Europe and South America.

A first-half goal from Brazil international Igor Jesus proved the difference as Botafogo all but sealed a place in the knockout rounds in front of a 53,699 crowd at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.

Enrique said his team had expected a tough battle.

“We knew it was going to be a very difficult match – they defended very well,” the Spaniard said.

“This Club World Cup is very intense and difficult, and all the teams are highly motivated, especially when they’re playing against us.”

He insisted, however, that PSG still had plenty of time to resurrect their campaign.

“If there’s a team that can turn it around, it’s our team,” he added. “We’ve got to analyse this and there’s things we can improve. But I think our performance was good.”

French champions PSG are widely regarded as one of the favourites for Fifa’s new expanded 32-team tournament, after a dazzling season which culminated with a scintillating 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in the Champions League final in May.

But their hopes of securing a victory, which would have seen them become the first side to reach the last 16, were stymied by a resilient performance from their opponents from Rio de Janeiro.

“A lot of people wondered, but we showed how strong Botafogo is,” Jesus said after the win.

“It was a difficult game, and we had to defend well, and we did our job and scored a goal. We’re really happy – we knew how important this game was.

“One team was the champion of the Champions League, the other team was the champion of South America,” added the 24-year-old, who had been strongly linked with a move to English Premier League side Nottingham Forest earlier in 2025 before opting to stay with the Brazilian side to play in the Club World Cup.

“I think I made the right choice to stay in Botafogo,” he quipped.

PSG picked up where they had left off in the 4-0 Group B rout of Atletico Madrid on June 15, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia testing Botafogo goalkeeper John with an early curling effort after just two minutes.

But that effort was as close as PSG came to scoring, in a scrappy first half punctuated by a series of niggling fouls that prevented the European champions from settling into their passing game.

Botafogo’s midfield trio of Marlon Freitas, Gregore and Allan worked tirelessly to close down Vitinha, denying the skilful PSG playmaker time and space to launch attacks despite dominating possession.

Instead, it was Botafogo who took the lead with a goal against the run of play on 36 minutes.

Jefferson Savarino’s perfectly weighted through ball split the PSG defence and sent Jesus racing through on goal.

The Botafogo striker did brilliantly to wrong-foot the covering Willian Pacho, before swinging a shot that took a slight deflection past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma on its way into the net.

PSG continued to dominate through the second half, and spent long periods camped in the final third.

But Botafogo’s defence held firm and the result leaves the Brazilian side firmly on course for the last 16, with a final group game against Atletico to come in Pasadena on June 23.

Botafogo coach Renato Paiva said his team had beaten PSG at their own game.

“Being a great team, playing together, all the guys defending, all the guys attacking, and that’s the big secret of this PSG team, that’s why they compete and win,” he said.

“They are a fantastic team. I said this, PSG are a lesson to everybody nowadays in football.

“And I told my guys, just be a team, enjoy playing together, attack together, defend together and enjoy. And they did it. Fantastic.” AFP, REUTERS