'The real competition starts now' – Luis Enrique and PSG eyeing Club World Cup glory

Luis Enrique insisted that his Paris Saint-Germain team were motivated to build on their 2024-25 success as they eye Club World Cup glory. 

PSG booked their place in the last 16 of the competition with a 2-0 win over the Seattle Sounders on Monday, thanks to goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Achraf Hakimi. 

The Champions League winners finished top of Group B, and were joined in the next round by Botafogo, despite their 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the other group game. 

Luis Enrique's team were worthy winners against Seattle, registering an expected goals (xG) total of 2.12 from their 15 shots to the Sounders' 0.6 from their seven attempts. 

PSG responded to their shock defeat to Botafogo last time out, and did so by dominating possession, something they have done throughout the first phase of the competition. 

Indeed, the Parisiens have held 73% possession over their three group stage matches so far at the Club World Cup, completing 1,500 more passes than their opponents. 

They will face the runners-up of Group A in their next match, with the possibility of a reunion with Lionel Messi, whose Inter Miami team currently occupy that position. 

And despite making their first appearance at the Club World Cup, Luis Enrique believes his side have what it takes to go all the way in the United States. 

"It's a competition where you have to be ready to go to Atlanta, Philadelphia, or even elsewhere," Luis Enrique said. 

"We want to go as far as possible, and I think the players are ready. The real competition starts now, and it will be very difficult.

"After each match, we have to see if we qualify or not. We're motivated!"

Despite their victory, Luis Enrique took the time to express his frustration at the playing surface at Lumen Field. 

"What matters is the state of the pitch. And I say that today, even though we won. We're a long way from European stadiums," Luis Enrique added.

"They're good, but the ball bounces like a rabbit. Today, since it was an artificial pitch before, and now a natural pitch, you have to water it by hand and it dries out in 10 minutes.

"It's an obvious problem, it's not an excuse. We can't play at the level we want to. And FIFA has to take that into account. Not only in stadiums, but also during training camps.

"I can't imagine an NBA court with holes. We play in stadiums where the ball looks more like a rabbit than a ball. If we have to criticise, it deserves to be changed."

For Atletico and Diego Simeone, meanwhile, their tournament came to an end despite beating Brazilian side Botafogo at the Rose Bowl on Monday. 

The LaLiga giants knew they needed to beat their opponents by three goals to advance, but were only able to find one, which came from Antoine Griezmann in the 87th minute. 

The result saw Botafogo become the first team to concede just one goal in their first two meetings with European opponents in the Club World Cup, including the previous format.

For Atletico, they failed to advance from the group stage of a major tournament for a third time under Simeone, after previous exits from the Champions League in 2017-18 and 2022-23.

And speaking after the game, Simeone conceded that their 4-0 thrashing by PSG in their opening game of the competition proved costly. 

"The match against PSG ended up dooming us, where every decision always went against us. We won two out of three matches, and sadly, we're out," Simeone said. 

"We're calm, and we're very clear on what we need to improve, and all of this helps us."

Griezmann, meanwhile, did not mince his words, saying: "We have to look at ourselves and see that sometimes we're not at the level we need to be, and we have to fix that."