Atlético Madrid defeated Botafogo 1–0 in the third match of Group B of the Club World Cup, but this result was not enough for the Madrid team to advance in the tournament, as they needed a three-goal victory. The Spanish team tried everything to achieve a better result, but came up against their opponents' solid defense and only managed to score in the 87th minute through Antoine Griezmann. Despite the loss, the Brazilians will play in the round of 16, finishing second in the final standings thanks to their better record against today's opponent, who remains third.

Diego Simeone chose to start the match with Julián Álvarez and Alexander Sørloth in attack. Giuliano Simeone and Conor Gallagher played on the wings, while Rodrigo De Paul and Pablo Barrios partnered in midfield.

For Botafogo, the attacking trio consisted of Arthur, Igor Jesus, and Savarino Quintero. Alan, Gregory, and Marlon Freitas partnered in midfield. The match began with attacks on both goals, but they ended somewhere in front of the penalty areas and did not result in shots on goal.The first big chance of the match was created by Botafogo. In the 10th minute, Jefferson Savarino broke away from the defense and found himself one-on-one with Jan Oblak, who brilliantly saved the Venezuelan's shot.

Botafogo had another good chance in the 15th minute when Arthur shot from distance and, after a deflection off a defender, the ball flew dangerously close to the goal.

Atlético Madrid created their first real chance in the 17th minute when Conor Gallagher received the ball around the penalty spot and shot on the run, but over the goal.

Barrios then tried a shot from outside the penalty area in the 21st minute, but Botafogo goalkeeper John was in the right place and saved without any problems.

In the 28th minute, Gregory reached a difficult cross in the penalty area, but his volley went wide of the right post.

The best chance for Atlético Madrid up to that point came in the 41st minute when Julián Álvarez found himself in a shooting position in the penalty area, but his shot went wide.

At the end of the half, VAR intervened to review a situation that could have led to a penalty for Atlético Madrid for a foul on Julián Álvarez. There was a foul, but after reviewing the situation, it was determined that Alexander Sørloth had committed a foul in the build-up to the attack and the penalty was not awarded.

In added time, Julián Álvarez attempted a long-range shot on goal, but it lacked power and accuracy.

Atlético Madrid started the second half with an attempt to press, but this was skillfully stopped by the Botafogo players, who defended quite organized.

The first interesting moment of the second half came from Antoine Griezmann, who tried to find the corner of the net from a difficult angle, but his shot went a few centimeters wide of the target.

A minute later, Alexander Sørloth received an excellent cross near the goal, but his header was quite inaccurate.

In the 67th minute, however, Botafogo could have delivered a crushing blow.

Igor Jesus received a perfect cross from the left and shot on the volley, but only Jan Oblak's brilliant save kept the score unchanged.

From the resulting corner, Gregory sent in a good header from close range, but Oblak was again in the right place and caught the ball in his hands.

In the 78th minute, Antoine Griezmann sent a wonderful cross into the penalty area, where Alexander Sørloth was waiting, but he again failed to get enough power on his shot and the ball went wide of the goal.

Botafogo, however, continued to be extremely dangerous on the counterattack. In the 81st minute, Alvaro Montoro found space and shot from distance, but the ball whizzed centimeters past the left post.

In the 83rd minute, Angel Correa advanced down the right wing and sent a sharp cross into the penalty area, where Antoine Griezmann got his head to the ball but again failed to hit the target.

After another attack with several passes, Atlético Madrid finally opened the scoring. Julián Álvarez crossed and found Antoine Griezmann unmarked at the far post, who slotted into an empty net to make it 1-0.

In the end, Atlético Madrid celebrated the victory, but it turned out to be only for prestige and another part of the prize fund. Paris Saint-Germain, Botafogo, and Atlético finished with 6 points each in the final standings, but the French won the group thanks to their better result in head-to-head matches. The Brazilians finished second and also qualified for the round of 16, while the “duchies” will pack their bags and fly back to Europe. |BGNES