Palmeiras and Botafogo clash in Club World Cup clássico

• Palmeiras and Botafogo meet in the Round of 16
• Abel Ferreira's Verdão topped Group A
• Botafogo pulled off statement win against Paris Saint-Germain

Palmeiras v Botafogo has become something of a contemporary clássico and a carnival of chaos in recent times. Now the stage is set for the sides to go head-to-head before a global audience in the Round of 16 at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™.

The clubs, both of whom are giants of the Brazilian game, found themselves facing off in a nail-biting race for the top‑flight title in both 2023 and 2024 and also met in the last 16 in last year’s CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores.

Epic encounters, turbulent twists, frenetic finales and droves of drama kept fans up and down the country on the edge of their seats.

“We’ve been through a lot in recent times [with Botafogo]," said Palmeiras head coach Abel Ferreira shortly after the Club World Cup contest was confirmed. "We’ve been fighting tooth and nail for the same goals, especially over the past two years."

Palmeiras go into the tournament’s first Round-of-16 tussle as Group A winners, whilst Botafogo finished behind Paris Saint-Germain as Group B runners-up. The sides will now meet at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia this Saturday.

The Alviverde’s most famous triumph over their new-found rivals came during the 2023 Brasileirão campaign. The São Paulo-based outfit trailed their Rio de Janeiro counterparts by a seemingly insurmountable 14 points at one stage, although this gap had already been significantly narrowed by the time of the sides’ clash at Botafogo’s Estadio Olimpico in early November. The surreal showdown would prove to be the turning point in the title race, as the Verdão manufactured the most memorable of comebacks to instigate a remarkable revival in the final run-in and snatch glory from O Glorioso’s grip.

The Rio giants headed into half-time with a seemingly unassailable three-goal advantage. However, an Endrick strike just four minutes into the second half reduced the arrears and produced a pinch of promise for Palmeiras, and their prospects were enhanced further when Adryelson was sent for an early bath with 14 minutes remaining, leaving Botafogo to see out the match with ten men. Three minutes later and the home side were awarded a penalty and the perfect opportunity to kill off the game, as well as any nerves caused by their numerical setback.

Cue the unscripted drama. Weverton saved Tiquinho Soares’ spot-kick and the Palmeiras touchpaper was lit. Up at the other end, Endrick claimed his brace in the 84th minute, before Jose Lopez fired home a last-gasp leveller with a minute of normal time remaining.

Botafogo still had to survive stoppage time, but Ferreira and his unrelenting charges had other ideas. Nine minutes into additional time, Murilo latched onto Raphael Veiga’s dangerous out-swinging free-kick to clinch a staggering 4-3 triumph in the game’s final throes. The result would ultimately fire Palmeiras towards the league championship.

The Fogão’s riposte was a year in the making and delivered in back-to-back blows. In 2024, the Estrela Solitária knocked Palmeiras out of the Libertadores in yet another thrilling encounter, before being crowned Brazilian champions later that same season, leaving Palmeiras trailing in their wake as runners-up.

En route to lifting the first Libertadores crown in their history, Botafogo first had to overcome their newly awakened adversary in the knockout stage. In the first leg of their last-16 contest, the Alvinegro Carioca ran out 2-1 winners on home turf.

The following week, at Allianz Park in São Paulo, the game looked to be heading towards a routine win for the Fogão after Igor Jesus put them 1-0 ahead in the opening exchanges and Jefferson Savarino extended the advantage to give his side a three-goal cushion on aggregate .

Jose Lopez cut the lead with four minutes of normal time remaining, and mere moments later, Rony converted Palmeiras’ second. The Botafogo faithful found themselves gripped by a creeping sense of déjà vu as history threatened to repeat itself. The apprehension turned to despair when Gustavo Gomez struck a blow that would have taken the game to penalties, before it was chalked off for handball following a review, to the agonising relief of those of a black and white persuasion.

But the drama was far from over: in the game’s dying embers, Palmeiras midfielder Gabriel Menino hit a fierce free-kick that crashed against the crossbar, leaving the entire stadium breathless. By the skin of their teeth and with their nerves well and truly shredded, Botafogo scraped through.

Having laid the previous season’s ghosts to rest, the Rio giants finally got their league revenge by claiming the league title, ending a nearly 30-year drought with a six-point lead over their familiar foes.

Poignantly, six points was precisely the sum of Botafogo’s head-to-head meetings against their championship challengers. Having recorded a 1-0 triumph in Rio in the opening round of fixtures, they dominated their opponents in São Paulo and ran out 3-1 winners in the penultimate game of the season, in what felt like a winner-takes-all scenario.

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