Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) suffered a shock 1-0 Club World Cup defeat against Brazilian side Botafogo in a hard-fought battle between the reigning champions of Europe and South America.
A first-half goal from Brazilian international Igor Jesus proved the difference on Thursday as Botafogo all but sealed a place in the knockout rounds in front of a 53,699 crowd at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.
French champions PSG are widely regarded as one of the favourites for FIFA’s 32-team tournament after a dazzling season which culminated with a scintillating 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League final last month.
But their hopes of securing a victory, which would have seen them become the first side to reach the last 16, were stymied by a resilient performance from their opponents from Rio de Janeiro.
“A lot of people wondered, but we showed how strong Botafogo is,” goal scorer Jesus said after the win. “It was a difficult game, and we had to defend well, and we did our job and scored a goal.
“We’re really happy – we knew how important this game was. One team was the champion of the Champions League, the other team was the champion of South America,” added Jesus, who had been strongly linked with a move to English Premier League side Nottingham Forest earlier this year before opting to stay with the Brazilians to play in the Club World Cup.
“I think I made the right choice to stay in Botafogo,” Jesus quipped.
PSG coach Luis Enrique said his team had expected a tough battle.
“We knew it was going to be a very difficult match – they defended very well,” the Spaniard said.
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