Understanding the stakes after two games

SEATTLE — Coming off of a 3-1 loss against Atlético Madrid, having already lost 2-1 against Botafogo RJ, the Seattle Sounders sit in last place in their Club World Cup group with 0 points and a -3 goal difference and virtually zero chance of advancing to the next phase of the tournament. Those chances were already slim following the team’s opening loss to Botafogo, but that has hardly diminished the stakes for the players up and down Seattle’s roster.

While advancement may be virtually out of the question — they can technically advance with a three-goal win over PSG, coupled with Botafogo beating Atléti on Monday — starting spots and playing time are clearly up for grabs. So far, 19 players have seen the field across the two games, and only four available (to varying degrees) outfield players on the roster have yet to play a minute — Cody Baker, Danny Leyva, Jordan Morris and Yeimar, with only Baker and Leyva being fully healthy. Everyone’s getting their chances, and what they do with them is deciding whether they get to build on those chances or if someone else is going to get a chance of their own.

Look at the lineup that started against Atléti: after entering as substitutes against Botafogo and helping to provide a spark from the bench, all of Reed Baker-Whiting, Jon Bell, Paul Rothrock and Pedro de la Vega got spots in the XI. There were extenuating circumstances for some of them, with Bell replacing Kim Kee-hee due to injury, a run of costly errors from Nouhou leaving a gap for RBW, and rotation during a busy schedule also providing Kalani Kossa-Rienzi a chance to test himself against a Spanish giant. But while rotation played a factor Brian Schmetzer has held true throughout this season that strong performances lead to a continued run on the field, and poor performances mean a chance for the next man up.

After showing good energy off the bench and Rothrock setting up Cristian Roldan’s goal against Botafogo, the pair of Rothrock and de la Vega struggled to make the same impact in the second game. After 60 minutes for de la Vega and 66 for Rothrock the two only accounted for a single chance created, combined for 1/4 successful dribbles and 6/18 duels won. Behind them, though, the fullbacks had a better go of it. RBW and KKR — as an aside, there’s just something delightful about playing hyphenates at both fullback spots — were far from perfect, but they also hardly looked out of place against one of Europe’s best teams.

Baker-Whiting built on his very strong half against Botafogo, making a strong case for himself to keep getting shots at the starting left back spot as long as he can stay healthy, particularly in light of Nouhou’s recent struggles. Kossa-Rienzi may not have displaced Alex Roldan as the starter on the right side, but for a guy who wasn’t on a first team contract when the Sounders started their season, winning 3/4 duels, 2/2 tackles, completing his 1 attempted dribble, 21 of 23 passes, and creating 1 chance in 79 minutes against Atlético Madrid is quite a feat.

Georgi Minoungou only got 11 minutes plus stoppage time to do his thing on Thursday, but that’s exactly what he did when he replaced Kossa-Rienzi at right wing late in the game. In his short time on the field, Minoungou took 2 shots, set up Jesús Ferreira for a goal that was ultimately called offside, went 1/1 on both dribbles and crosses, and 5 of his 13 touches came inside the box. Maybe it’s not enough to dislodge one of Seattle’s other wingers, but it’s the kind of performance that should turn into a longer run against PSG, and possibly when MLS play resumes on June 24 against Austin FC.

The game against Atléti didn’t end the way Seattle would have wanted it to, and there are certainly issues to be found with the team’s and individuals’ performances, but the way they approached the match and how the players handled themselves can and will have consequences for better and worse that reach well beyond this tournament. The same goes for the meeting with PSG. Maybe the Sounders will claim a famous result, maybe a miracle even happens and they advance somehow, but what matters most is that the team take this opportunity to test themselves as a means to learn and grow, and take that forward into the rest of the season. This is a proving ground, and only the Sounders get to decide what the results are.