PHILADELPHIA — When the goal finally came, after 100 long minutes, it was worth the wait.
Palmeiras substitute Paulinho stepped inside, into space, and stroked a low shot through the legs of a defender into the Botafogo net. As he ran off toward the corner flag, he gestured for calm. Behind the goal, thousands of Palmeiras fans — who had never stopped singing, all game — ignored him, and celebrated wildly, a sea of green and white.
The best of Palmeiras vs. Botafogo wasn’t on the pitch; it was in the stands. The quality of Palmeiras’ 1-0 win in the round of 16 — the first of the FIFA Club World Cup knockout stage, the first between two teams from the same country, and the latest chapter in Brazil’s newest rivalry — wasn’t the highest. But the noise and color brought by the fans to Lincoln Financial Field more than made up for it.
Palmeiras fans dominated in numbers and volume, filling the stand behind the goal at the north end of the stadium. They held up a card mosaic before kickoff, waving inflatable balloons in the first half and hundreds of green-and-white flags in the second. In the 90th minute, with the game headed for extra time, they unveiled a huge tifo, long green-and-white stripes stretching from the back of the stand, down to the field.
One chant — one word — filled the air. “Palmeiras! Palmeiras! Palmeiras!” At the other end of the stadium, Botafogo’s fans were outnumbered, but did their best to compete, just like their team.
This is not a historic derby like Palmeiras-Corinthians, or Botafogo-Flamengo. But in the past few years, Palmeiras, from Sao Paulo, vs. Botafogo, from Rio de Janeiro, has become a battle to be the best team in Brazil. The rivalry peaked in 2023, when Palmeiras famously beat Botafogo 4-3 — Endrick, now of Real Madrid, scoring twice to fight back from 3-0 down — and went on to win the league.
In 2024, Botafogo got their revenge, winning Brazil’s Serie A and the Copa Libertadores, and eliminating Palmeiras along the way. And when these teams have met in recent years, it has invariably been Botafogo who came out on top. Going into this game in Philadelphia, Botafogo hadn’t lost in their past five meetings.
Here, Palmeiras were the better, more dangerous team throughout, their attack led by one player who is on his way to European football, Estêvão, and another who has already been and returned, Vitor Roque. In normal time, all the best chances, without exception, fell to Palmeiras. In the ninth minute, Estêvão helped create their first opportunity, the ball flashing across goal and wide. Before halftime, midfielder Richard Ríos — another player getting attention in Europe — saw his powerful shot fly over the bar. After the break, Estêvão’s curler was palmed away by the goalkeeper. Vitor Roque had an overhead kick blocked. Mauricio had a header tipped over the crossbar.
Whatever the stereotypes are about Brazilian football and joga bonito, Botafogo aren’t it. Whether they were unable or unwilling, they offered little going forward, with just four shots — one of them on target — and an xG of 0.13 in the first 90 minutes. If they were playing for extra time, they got it, but it didn’t do them any good. Palmeiras kept pushing, and Paulinho put Palmeiras ahead. Botafogo responded, creating chances late on, when their opponents were reduced to 10 men, but their only sustained pressure on the Palmeiras goal came too late.
At the final whistle, the Palmeiras squad ran across to celebrate with their supporters. They had been the game’s real stars. Brazilian fans have brought so much to this tournament already, and Palmeiras’ fans will get the chance to do it all again, back at Lincoln Financial Field on Friday, in the quarterfinals.
“A few years ago we’d have paid to play in this competition. And now here we are,” Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira said afterward. “If we win, great. And if we lose, at least we gave our all. And that’s what we did today. The players had so much energy on the pitch, and I have no words to describe our fans. They’re absolutely extraordinary, and I’m sure they felt represented by the team.”
