PASADENA — Death comes at the end. But not necessarily in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Matchday 3 of the month-long competition’s group stage commenced at high noon on Monday, when Group B, the consensus toughest draw and appropriately named “group of death,” was the first to officially send a pair of teams to the knockout rounds. With everyone in the group alive as action simultaneously kicked off in front of an announced crowd of 22,292 at the Rose Bowl between Brazil’s Botafogo and Atlético Madrid, and at Seattle’s Lumen Field where Paris Saint-Germain battled MLS’s Sounders, PSG’s 2-0 win left them atop the group with Botafogo as the runner-up following its 1-0 defeat. Sitting in the driver’s seat after a historic victory over current UEFA Champions League winner PSG at the Rose Bowl last Thursday, Botafogo, the 2024 Copa Libertadores champion, entered the day among the quartet of unbeaten Brazilian sides in the field knowing a win or a draw would send the through. With that in mind, Botafogo relied on its stout defense, which PSG head coach Luis Enrique described as the best unit his team faced all year. Botafoga held up until the 87th minute, when the scoreless draw was broken by Madrid star Antoine Greizmann, whose goal brought drama to the closing moments. Once the Frenchman gave his side the lead and PSG’s result in Seattle was finalized, the La Liga representatives had to have two more goals to advance over Botafogo on goal differential between the teams involved. That was going to be difficult considering Botafogo had conceded just once so far in its opener – a 2-1 victory over Seattle. Ten minutes into the match the Brazilians had a chance to assert control when a through ball to forward Jefferson Savarino forced a save by Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who dropped to his left to deny the shot. Madrid’s best opportunity before the half came in the 41st minute, but Argentine world champion Julián Alvarez’s first touch hopped on him and he pulled his shot wide of the far post. Mexican referee Cesar Ramos went to VAR to check for a possible foul in the box against Botafogo prior to the break. But in examining the play, Ramos determined a foul by Madrid preceded the potential penalty situation and the game remained nil-nil. Madrid found moments to score prior to Griezmann’s contribution, which came after he entered to begin the second half. Forward Alexander Sorloth missed an open header. A deep cross into the box in the 83rd minute nearly led to a Griezmann goal, but he touched it just shy of the near post. Botafogo star Igor Jesus forced another strong save from Oblak in the 67th minute. Madrid finished with a 23-7 advantage in shot attempts. Jesus and his teammates will next play in the Round of 16 on June 28 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia against the winner of Group A. PSG, which beat Atletico Madrid, 4-0, in its opener, returns June 29 against the Group A runner-up at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. More to come on this story.