PSG Vs Botafogo [0-1] Club World Cup 2025: Renato Paiva Defence Masterclass – Tactical Analysis

The newly crowned European champions and the reigning South American champions faced off in a duel that in the past would have determined the world champion in the Intercontinental Cup.

Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain arrived with a great streak of results and performances, and a brilliant start in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup to boot, defeating Atlético Madrid 4-0.

The Spanish coachs team entered the match with an excellently executed positional play system.

“It doesn’t matter who occupies the space, as long as someone does”

This was one of Johan Cruyff’s maxims, and Les Parisiens understand this perfectly.

In and out, up and down, lateral and vertical movements across the five lanes of the pitch—that is what Botafogo had to defend to have any chance against the 2024/2025 UEFA Champions League winners.

In full reconstruction after the departure of some key players in their 2024 Copa Libertadores triumph, such as Luiz Henrique or Thiago Almada, the Rio team had won their first match against Seattle Sounders 2-1.

It was a match that defined a lot for the group, and one in which Fogão showed a defensive performance worthy of world champions.

Difficulties In Shifting The Block

Renato Paivas Botafogo initially set up in a 4-3-3 mid-block, with the clear intention of clogging the central channels, especially during PSGs first build-up phase, and trying to prevent positional superiorities between the lines.

In Figure 1, Botafogo maintain a compact mid-block with minimal spacing between midfielders and defenders, leaving virtually no room for PSG to receive between the lines.

Given the constant threat represented by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (lined up as a left winger), the Brazilian team initially planned to wait for his reception instead of anticipating or pressing him aggressively.

This decision caused initial imbalances in Botafogo’s backline once they had to shift laterally.

In 1v1 duels,