Realio’s Ratings: Welcome to the world’s stage

Welcome to the Club World Cup for the second time, Seattle Sounders! Like last time, the Sounders struggled, found their footing, and then played better, but couldn’t get a positive result. After allowing two goals to their opponent, Brazilian side Botafogo, Seattle stormed back and were close to earning a point, only to fall 2-1, a disappointing result. They have two more chances to make a good impression, but must face two of the best teams in the world, both from Europe. If Seattle can play like they did in the second half against Botafogo, that will make a statement that this franchise is a global force. If, however, they play like they did in the first half, they’ll be embarrassingly played off the field, on the world’s stage. 

Stats: Sounders outshot, out-xG’d, out-hustled, and outplayed Botafogo for the entire second half. That resulted in a 23-12 shot advantage, 2.2-0.9 xG advantage, a clear possession advantage, and forced the opponents into 32 more clearances. This was an attacking team with constant pressure, ramming itself into a set defense, but sadly fell just shy of achieving a result. 

Quick Impression: This was a winnable game, a match they should have at least tied, and it’s frustrating that they let the opportunity slip away. The team seems coached to always play measured, even when transition play is available. Countless breakouts were stymied and they don’t have the talent and cohesion to break down teams that are set, at least not with any consistency. It’s disappointing to see Seattle slow down attacks and not come to life until they’re on the back foot and it’s desperation time. 

Goalkeeper

Stefan Frei – 5

Stats: Four saves, 89 percent passing distribution success. 

Quick Impression: Frei is slowing down. Botafogo got two great looks at open headers, and he looked slow, especially on the second goal. With his heels glued to the line, or even standing in his own goal(!) Frei isn’t showing aggressive ownership of his penalty area, instead conceding it. He really missed Yeimar’s aerial support. A 49th minute save provided Seattle with some hope. A 90th minute kick save extended this hope.

Defense

Nouhou – 5 (off 46’ for Baker-Whiting)

Stats: Fifty-one touches, 94 percent passing. Three interceptions. One stupid yellow card foul.

Quick Impression: Sure, he got his toes stepped on and was dealing with the “dark arts” of the Brazilian opponents. Sure, he was clearly pushed and held and got pissed off. It’s not an excuse to retaliate, get caught, and give up a dangerous set piece. He is not playing well enough to justify this extracurricular BS, and since that’s the case, the team should explore other options. 

Jackson Ragen – 7

Stats: Ninety-five touches, 90 percent passing, one key pass, 2/4 aerial duels. Eighteen passes into the final third. One BIG missed shot. 

Quick Impression: Ragen was integral to almost all the good distribution in the first half. In the second half, he missed the biggest chance of the evening, scuffing a wide-open shot from five yards out after Albert Rusnák was denied. With the entire goal open, Ragen both took the ball from Danny Musovski and missed, the double whammy of sadness. 

Kim Kee-hee – 5 (off 46’ for Bell)

Stats: Thirty-four touches, 94 percent passing, 0/2 aerial duels won. Two goals scored against him on those aerial duels. 

Quick Impression: Kim might have been rushed back too early, as he never looked right. He was beaten on two goals, both headers where he lost the physical battle. Sure, he was held on the first one, but expectations are higher for this veteran. He was also beaten on at least two other header attempts, including a 12th minute shot that a forced a Frei save. 

Alex Roldan – 6

Stats: Eighty-four touches, two shots (neither on target). Zero key passes, 84 percent passing. Five recoveries and nine passes into the final third.

Quick Impression: Alex was the consummate glue guy, moving to space to allow Jesús Ferreira freedom while also keeping a keen eye on the defensive space on the right. He was continually on the ball and finding teammates, but didn’t always push the pace forward enough. At least one central pass was plain awful, and Seattle was lucky not to be penalized by those errant passes. Outside of a nice look early, Roldan was a water carrier who moved the ball forward to the attackers and filled in gaps. 

Defensive Midfield

Cristian Roldan – 8 (MOTM)

Stats: Four shots, three key passes, 110 touches, 15 passed into the final third. Two tackles won, 11 recoveries, 12 won duels. Fouled four times. A partridge in a pear tree. 

Quick Impression: As it has been all year, Seattle goes as Cristian goes. Showing very well in the first half, he turned up the dial in the second, doing everything. He was the best defender, best midfielder, and top attacker for the Sounders. He stopped transition, brought the ball into the Sounders’ attack, and was the only Seattle player to put the ball in the Brazilian keeper’s net. If only he didn’t have to do it all. 

Obed Vargas – 7

Stats: Two shots, four dribbles, 95 percent passing. One key pass, nine recoveries. He was dribbled past three times and lost 11 duels. 

Quick Impression: Vargas does a lot of stuff very well. He isn’t doing much stuff that’s “great,” which is readily apparent when his midfield partner is doing so. A second half with Seattle on the front foot meant more vertical play from Obed, which is where he excels. He showed more desire to push the ball, and the Sounders saw a marked improvement in the attack as a result. His ability to control and turn in tight areas is sublime.

Attacking Midfield

Ryan Kent – 5 (71’ off for Rothrock)

Stats: Fifty touches, 80 percent passing, 0/3 crossing. Nine lost duels, zero shots, and zero key passes.

Quick Impression: Kent doesn’t appear to know what his role is on this team, and he’s only showing up in spurts. He constantly defers to other Sounders when he shouldn’t, and dribbles into opponents when he has better options. He’s not just on a different page, he’s in an entirely different book. He clearly has the physical talent, but unlike Pedro de la Vega who tries to do too much, Ryan Kent is doing too little. 

Albert Rusnák – 7

Stats: Seven (7!!) shots, four key passes, and 13 passes into the final third. 

Quick Impression: If he could have scored in the 43rd minute on an open look from Cristian (who else?) Seattle would have gone into halftime tied 1-1 and could likely have won. Instead, Botafogo scored a minute later for a 2-0 lead at halftime. Albert consistently got into great spots and consistently found shots. He just didn’t find the goal, with a 20th minute volley and a 58th minute close shot via a Jesús connection being the best of the lot. Rusnák is not finding or creating the big moments that Seattle needs.

Jesús Ferreira – 6 (off 72’ for de la Vega)

Stats: Forty-eight touches, two shots. Two key passes, zero tackles attempted, five recoveries.

Quick Impression: Ferreira was the best Seattle creator in a rough first half, before adding to the offensive surge in the second, but also not bringing enough. His 16th minute open shot was a huge chance and he put it wide. He found Rusnák in the 58th for another chance that was missed. His consistent defensive effort supported a flagging Sounders defense in big moments. 

Forward

Danny Musovski – 5 (off 84’ for De Rosario)

Stats: Twenty-one touches, zero shots, three fouls earned, four won headers.

Quick Impression: It’s a thankless job to be a Seattle striker when they play like this, on their heels. Much of the best Sounders success in the first half came from the excellent press angles by Jesús and Danny. Musovski got into good spots but didn’t find the ball, and when he did, there wasn’t much he could do with it. 

Substitutes

Jon Bell – 5 (on 46’ for Kee-hee)

Stats: Thirty-one touches, 76 percent passing, two defensive actions, 1/3 aerial duels won.

Quick Impression: Bell came in and was immediately poor on defense, but luckily Seattle played more offense than defense in the second half. This let Bell play centrally as everyone around him pushed forward. His distribution was effective, since it was usually “pass to a Roldan.” 

Reed Baker-Whiting – 6 (on 46’ for Nouhou)

Stats: One shot, two key passes, 92 percent completion rate. Seven touches in the opponent’s area, and 3/3 on tackles.

Quick Impression: Baker-Whiting, in the 49th minute, made one of the worst defensive choices in history, gave a free shot on goal, and could have seen Botafogo score a third to put the match out of reach. Instead, Frei bailed Reed out, and Reed rewarded him by putting in a quality shift. Without defensive requirements, RBW looked great pushing the ball forward, showing off both feet and dynamic attacking movement. Sure, there were some rough edges, but he should play more until he inevitably gets hurt again. 

Paul Rothrock – 6 (on 71’ for Kent)

Stats: Two blocked shots, one assist, two key passes, 75 percent passing. Seventeen total touches, and six in the box.

Quick Impression: Paul needs his own ratings scale because he does such a random array of soccer and soccer-adjacent things. When he brought in energy, direct play, and shithousery on par with Botafogo, it propelled Seattle onto the front foot down his wing. He made such smart movement that the ball inevitably found him after that, as he consistently moved and created chaos. And then he inevitably wasted a number of massive chances which is so frustrating. He makes the effort, and sometimes that’s enough. He deserves to start the next match. 

Pedro de la Vega – 5 (on 72’ for Ferreira)

Stats: One hundred percent passing, two shots, 0/3 duels, and one giant whiff. 

Quick Impression: He will be remembered for an absolutely blatant 80th minute whiff on a gorgeous setup pull back to the spot. It was bad as he Charlie Brown’d himself with an open shot, failing to connect. In the 94th minute he got another chance and this time forced a save, but the bottom line is this highly-paid player comes with high expectations and he’s not meeting them. He doesn’t combine well with teammates, doesn’t create for others, and doesn’t finish his chances. If he’d concentrate on one simple thing each game (drive and consistently cross, link up, play super vertical, be a holdup winger to bring Alex in, etc.) and do it well, it would be better than trying too hard to do everything and being mediocre as a result. 

Osaze De Rosario – 5 (on 84’ for Musovski)

Stats: Two touches, 1/2 headers won. 

Quick Impression: Osaze had a few moments to battle and brought his big body to play in the box, but Seattle missed a chance to just go for it, instead making a like-for-like size move up front and pushing Ragen up instead of using two strikers. 

Referee

Glenn Nyberg – 4

Stats: Nineteen fouls called on Botafogo, six on Seattle. Two yellow cards for each team. Many infuriating inconsistencies. 

Quick Impression: Seattle doesn’t deal well with adverse refereeing, so as early as the 6th minute when Gregore was making yellow-card-worthy fouls that were “play on,” it was clear this game was going to be a challenge. The lack of yellow cards (specifically in the 10th, 19th, and 54th minutes) meant Botafogo was allowed to be overly physical with a finesse Sounders team unwilling to give it back (outside of Cristian and Paul, for the most part). This was a pretty standard refereeing job in these tournaments, and the Brazilian team knew exactly how to take advantage of that. 

Upcoming: Thursday afternoon. Some Spanish team.