PASADENA — Death comes at the end. But not necessarily in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

Matchday 3 of the month-long competition’s group stage commenced at high noon on Monday, when Group B, the consensus toughest draw and appropriately named “group of death,” was the first to officially send a pair of teams to the knockout rounds.

With everyone in the group alive as action simultaneously kicked off in front of an announced crowd of 22,292 at the Rose Bowl between Brazil’s Botafogo and Atlético Madrid, and at Seattle’s Lumen Field where Paris Saint-Germain battled MLS’s Sounders, PSG’s 2-0 win left it atop the group with Botafogo as the runner-up following its 1-0 defeat.

“We don’t like losing the game,” Botafogo manager Renato Paiva said. “But we are now qualified against all odds and against the forecasts inside Brazil and outside Brazil.

“We did what nobody expected.”

PSG, Botafogo and Madrid each won a pair of games, closing the group with six points apiece, while Seattle went winless in three tries.

Sitting in the driver’s seat after a historic victory over current UEFA Champions League winner PSG at the Rose Bowl last Thursday, Botafogo, the 2024 Copa Libertadores champion, entered the day among the quartet of unbeaten Brazilian sides in the field knowing a win or a draw would send them through.

As it had in its first two matches, Botafogo relied on its stout defense, which PSG head coach Luis Enrique described as the best his team faced all year.

Botafoga held strong until the 87th minute, when the scoreless draw was broken by Madrid star Antoine Griezmann, whose first-time finish brought some sense of drama to the closing moments.

Once the Frenchman gave his side the lead and PSG’s result in Seattle went final, the La Liga representatives, who lost to the Parisians, 4-0, in their tournament opener, had to score two more goals to advance on goal differential between the teams involved.

“We didn’t manage well the end of the [PSG] game, with one man down,” Madrid manager Diego Simeone said. “And we were not as solid as these tournaments require. If you’re not solid offensively and defensively you’re gone.

“This time we were out on goal difference in a group where we all had the same points. No one cares. Tomorrow you are not in this tournament anymore and it’s painful.”

Scoring three goals against Botafogo seemed especially difficult considering that during the group stage “O Glorioso” conceded only twice, including a 2-1 opening match victory over Seattle.

Ten minutes in against Madrid the Brazilians had a chance to assert control when a through ball to forward Jefferson Savarino forced a save by goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who dropped to his left to deny the shot.

Madrid’s best opportunity before the half came in the 41st minute, but Argentine world champion Julián Alvarez’s first touch near the six-yard box hopped on him and he pulled his shot wide of the far post.

Mexican referee Cesar Ramos went to VAR to check for a possible foul in the box against Botafogo prior to the break. After examining the play, Ramos determined a foul on Madrid preceded the potential penalty situation and the game remained nil-nil.

Madrid found moments to score prior to Griezmann’s tally, which came after he entered at the start of the second half.

“We had more defensive problems with [Madrid] than compared to PSG,” Paiva said.

Madrid forward Alexander Sorloth missed an open header. A deep cross into the box in the 83rd minute nearly led to another Griezmann goal, but his touch put it just shy of the near post.

Meanwhile, Botafogo star Igor Jesus was held in check for much of the match, but he forced a strong save from Oblak in the 67th minute.

Next up for Jesus and his teammates except midfielder Gregore, who will miss the Round of 16 out with yellow card accumulation, is a clash Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia against the winner of Group A, fellow Brazilian Serie A power SE Palmeiras.

PSG returns Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta versus Group A runners-up Inter Miami CF and Lionel Messi, who played for PSG prior to joining MLS in 2023.