Spanish giants Atletico Madrid travel to Lumen Field to face Seattle Sounders on their home turf in their second Group B fixture at the FIFA Club World Cup on Thursday.

Both teams enter this pivotal contest on the back of suffering defeats on matchday one, with Atleti losing heavily to Paris Saint-Germain and Seattle coming up short against Botafogo.

Match preview

One of three American teams competing at the newly-expanded Club World Cup, MLS side Seattle were unable to take advantage of home comforts when they suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Brazilian outfit Botafogo on Monday.

After falling two goals behind before the interval, a deflected effort from Cristian Roldan 15 minutes from time handed the Rave Green a lifeline, but their second-half fightback was ultimately in vain as Botafogo held on for maximum points.

Head coach Brian Schmetzer could not fault the effort of his players, but he has acknowledged that his side lacked the cutting edge in front of goal required to come away with at least a point and has admitted that “the road doesn't get any easier now”.

Indeed, Seattle already sit three points behind the top two in Group B and must find a way to win at least one of their final two fixtures against European giants Atletico and PSG if they wish to keep their slim hopes of reaching the knockout rounds alive.

The Rave Green have now lost each of their last three matches in all competitions, including back-to-back defeats in MLS, and they head into Thursday’s clash with Atletico seeking to avoid losing three consecutive home games for the first time since March 2011.

The first all-European meeting at the 2025 Club World Cup between Atletico Madrid and PSG was a one-sided affair, as the Spanish side suffered a nightmare start to their debut campaign in the competition, losing 4-0 with 10 men to the newly-crowned European champions last weekend.

In the scorching Los Angeles sunshine, Atleti had no response to their French counterparts turning up the heat at the Rose Bowl. Manager Diego Simeone was keen to dodge post-match questions about his team’s performance and instead aimed a dig at PSG’s spending power.

All is not lost for Simeone and co, though, as their toughest group-stage fixture, on paper, is now out of the way and their focus shifts to favourable-looking encounters with Seattle and Botafogo, games they are expected - but by no means are guaranteed - to win.

Tipped by some as dark horses before the tournament, despite an early Champions League exit and a trophyless 2024-25 season, Atletico can ill-afford to suffer a third defeat in five matches across all competitions if they are to progress to the knockout rounds.

Atleti, who earned their place at the Club World Cup via the UEFA ranking pathway, have never faced American opposition before, but Thursday’s contest represents the eighth time that a Spanish side has locked horns with a team from the States, with the Spaniards prevailing in each of the last five meetings.

Team News

Seattle Sounders’ Stuart Hawkins is sidelined for between six and eight weeks with a thigh injury, but fellow centre-back Kim Kee-hee played for the first 45 minutes against Botafogo after recovering from a calf problem and is in contention to keep his place in the first XI.

Jordan Morris was fit to return to the matchday squad and watched on as an unused substitute last time out after recovering from a hamstring injury. An appearance from the bench is seemingly more likely than a start for the forward on Thursday, so Daniel Musovski could once again be supported in attack by Ryan Kent and Jesus Ferreira.

As for Atletico Madrid, Clement Lenglet will serve a one-match suspension after he was shown a second yellow card for dissent in the closing stages of the defeat to PSG.

Jose Gimenez is expected to deputise alongside Robin Le Normand in central defence, while Simeone will weigh up whether to stick with Marcos Llorente and Javi Galan as full-backs or recall Nahuel Molina and Reinaldo Mandava.

Conor Gallagher and Koke will both push Rodrigo De Paul and Pablo Barrios for starts in centre-midfield, while Antoine Griezmann could retain his spot in attack alongside Julian Alvarez, forcing Alexander Sorloth to begin as a substitute once again.

Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:

Frei; A. Roldan, Kim, Ragen, Tolo; Vargas, C. Roldan; Vargas; Ferreira, Rusnak, Kent; Musovski

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Molina, Le Normand, Gimenez, Galan; Simeone, De Paul, Gallagher, Koke; Griezmann, Alvarez