This Monday at 9pm CET (broadcast on DAZN), Paris Saint-Germain (1st) take on the Seattle Sounders (11th) at Lumen Field as part of Matchday 3 of the group phase of the 2025 Club World Cup. In a press conference, Brian Schmetzer, coach of the American team, spoke about the match and the Parisian opponent. In particular, he tried to suggest solutions for a great performance.
Schmetzer: “We’ll have to play with courage, bravery and intelligence.”
How do you tactically stop PSG?
They’re the European champions, and they may only be at the bottom of the table, given their young players and Luis Enrique’s excellent work. How do you stop them tactically? Well, you have to be sure that the intensity is there. Botafogo have done a great job. We’re going to take ideas away from them.
We have to be able to stand up to the pressure. We’ll have to play with courage, bravery and intelligence.
How do you approach the match, without overdoing it?
We’ve done the same preparation for every match, whether it’s a final, championship or anything else. We have a process and it doesn’t change. Even if we have more video when the opponent is new. Even if, in this case, our players have no doubt been watching the Champions League.
We work on the details, as usual. We don’t want the players to think too much; we need to make the most of the moment, the opportunity. A match like this doesn’t come along very often.
Schmetzer “You have to live it to the full and enjoy it.”
Do you have a special exercise to prepare?
There’s a special excitement, but we don’t have a special exercise. Luis Enrique is one of the best coaches in the world, and it’s an honor to be able to face him. It’s going to be a great challenge. We have to make the most of everything, the small successes, and learn what we can from these matches.
How do you enjoy the match?
There are moments when you arrive, you see the fans, there’s a lot of emotion. Then there are the moments with the staff when you realize what kind of opponents you’re up against, when the challenge is to stop a great player or beat a great goalkeeper. You have to live it to the full and enjoy it.
Schmetzer “We saw similar things in our game”.
You still have a small chance of qualifying, but PSG need a win. Is now a good time to face Paris?
I don’t know if there’s a right time (laughs). But they’re human and Botafogo got a good result. They also put on pants one leg at a time. But we understand the situation. The idea is to be competitive, and the tactics have been good against great teams.
We’ve seen similar things in our game, in our pressing, our construction of the game, etc. But the level is different, of course. But the level is different, of course. It’s a way of thinking about the game. There are details that separate our players from those of PSG.
Can set-pieces make the difference?
We’ve worked a lot on this aspect. Different teams have different ideas. We have long touches and corners are important. Sometimes, it’s simply a matter of getting a good cross and attacking the ball. We try to work on it. Sometimes there are special preparations and we’ll see if it works.
