You can probably count on that June 28 Seattle vs. Austin match happening: Sounders on brink of Club World Cup elimination
If you were planning on that 9:30 pm CT start time a week from Saturday ... well, keep planning on it!
The Seattle Sounders are straight up not having a good time playing some of the world's best teams in their own stadium.
On Thursday, the Sounders suffered their second defeat in two Club World Cup matches, setting up a "so you're telling me there's a chance" match against reigning UEFA champs Paris Saint-Germain on Monday (at 2 pm CT).
As an Austin FC fan, you're invested because should (if not when) the Sounders fail to get out of its group Monday, the June 28 match between the two distinctive shades of green in MLS will be on as scheduled — and it's possible that head coach Brian Schmetzer will want to rotate his lineup to match Verde's vacationing restedness.
Seattle's not quite eliminated yet, even by losing to Atlético Madrid 3-1 on Thursday, as Botafogo's surprise win over PSG later that day does set up an improbable scenario that starts with the Sounders handily beating PSG to get into the knockout rounds.
At the Club World Cup, though, the first tiebreaker is teams’ head-to-head records. If only two teams in a group are level on points, the side that won their match finishes higher. If their head-to-head result was a draw, they cannot be separated by goal difference or goals scored in their head-to-head, so the decision would go straight to the group-wide metrics — first, overall goal difference, followed by overall goals scored. If both of those are equal, the teams’ disciplinary record is the final tiebreaker, with the last resort being drawing lots.
If two or more teams are level on points, their position in the group is first determined by results in the matches between the sides that are level. If those are equal, goal difference from the matches between them is the next metric, followed by goals scored in the matches between them.
If Atleti beats or draws Botafogo, both those teams go through to the knockout rounds regardless of anything PSG or Seattle does. Botafogo winning does open the door to Seattle getting through with a win over PSG, but then there's a three-way tie for second that would get into goal differential among the teams that played. (PSG beat Atleti 4-0, which complicates Atleti's path, but Seattle would still have to put in some goals to make the math work in their favor.)
What is Austin FC up to?
According to Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez, in comments following last Saturday's 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls, most of the players are expected to return Friday from a mini-vacation that the 27 teams not participating in the Club World Cup were able to enjoy.
However, Myrto Uzuni and Osman Bukari – new dads with babies across the Atlantic in Spain and Ghana respectively – were allowed extra time away for some father-child bonding time, appropriate given Sunday was Father's Day.
And though there's nothing on either player's Instagram account featuring the new babies — it seems like maybe the Swoontower team should get on that — we did notice that Uzuni's completely wild gender reveal video is still pinned to his account. If you haven't checked it out yet, treat yourself.
Following the Sounders match, Austin FC is due to host LAFC the following Saturday, with the club planning a fireworks show (sponsored by Texas Lottery, because all things Austin FC are sponsored) as the match is the day after the July 4th holiday. The video promoting it shows fireworks from the home opener, with kids accompanying the players wearing ski hats. I predict that no one will want to wear a ski hat that day.
Also, though, there's a chance that the match could be postponed pending how far LAFC goes in the tournament. Done dirty by organizers, LAFC had to play its opener against Chelsea in the middle of a weekday afternoon in Atlanta (nearly 2200 miles from its home stadium), and will play ES Tunis, who lost its opener 2-0 to Flamengo in Philly. It's arguably the easiest of the three matches they'll play, and they'll need to win to have any hope of passing either the English or the Brazilian powers.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
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The Seattle Sounders are straight up not having a good time playing some of the world's best teams in their own stadium.
On Thursday, the Sounders suffered their second defeat in two Club World Cup matches, setting up a "so you're telling me there's a chance" match against reigning UEFA champs Paris Saint-Germain on Monday (at 2 pm CT).
As an Austin FC fan, you're invested because should (if not when) the Sounders fail to get out of its group Monday, the June 28 match between the two distinctive shades of green in MLS will be on as scheduled — and it's possible that head coach Brian Schmetzer will want to rotate his lineup to match Verde's vacationing restedness.
Seattle's not quite eliminated yet, even by losing to Atlético Madrid 3-1 on Thursday, as Botafogo's surprise win over PSG later that day does set up an improbable scenario that starts with the Sounders handily beating PSG to get into the knockout rounds.
Here's the current Group B table.
As The Athletic (routed through the New York Times) offered:
At the Club World Cup, though, the first tiebreaker is teams’ head-to-head records. If only two teams in a group are level on points, the side that won their match finishes higher. If their head-to-head result was a draw, they cannot be separated by goal difference or goals scored in their head-to-head, so the decision would go straight to the group-wide metrics — first, overall goal difference, followed by overall goals scored. If both of those are equal, the teams’ disciplinary record is the final tiebreaker, with the last resort being drawing lots.
If two or more teams are level on points, their position in the group is first determined by results in the matches between the sides that are level. If those are equal, goal difference from the matches between them is the next metric, followed by goals scored in the matches between them.
If Atleti beats or draws Botafogo, both those teams go through to the knockout rounds regardless of anything PSG or Seattle does. Botafogo winning does open the door to Seattle getting through with a win over PSG, but then there's a three-way tie for second that would get into goal differential among the teams that played. (PSG beat Atleti 4-0, which complicates Atleti's path, but Seattle would still have to put in some goals to make the math work in their favor.)
What is Austin FC up to?
According to Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez, in comments following last Saturday's 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls, most of the players are expected to return Friday from a mini-vacation that the 27 teams not participating in the Club World Cup were able to enjoy.
However, Myrto Uzuni and Osman Bukari – new dads with babies across the Atlantic in Spain and Ghana respectively – were allowed extra time away for some father-child bonding time, appropriate given Sunday was Father's Day.
And though there's nothing on either player's Instagram account featuring the new babies — it seems like maybe the Swoontower team should get on that — we did notice that Uzuni's completely wild gender reveal video is still pinned to his account. If you haven't checked it out yet, treat yourself.
Following the Sounders match, Austin FC is due to host LAFC the following Saturday, with the club planning a fireworks show (sponsored by Texas Lottery, because all things Austin FC are sponsored) as the match is the day after the July 4th holiday. The video promoting it shows fireworks from the home opener, with kids accompanying the players wearing ski hats. I predict that no one will want to wear a ski hat that day.
Also, though, there's a chance that the match could be postponed pending how far LAFC goes in the tournament. Done dirty by organizers, LAFC had to play its opener against Chelsea in the middle of a weekday afternoon in Atlanta (nearly 2200 miles from its home stadium), and will play ES Tunis, who lost its opener 2-0 to Flamengo in Philly. It's arguably the easiest of the three matches they'll play, and they'll need to win to have any hope of passing either the English or the Brazilian powers.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
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