Ryan Kent has been here before. He’s played in some of world football’s biggest matches from the Old Firm in Scotland to the Intercontinental Derby in Türkiye, and in 2022 he started in the UEFA Europa League Final for Rangers against Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt.
Though Rangers fell 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 result, it’s that type of unique experience at the game’s highest level that Kent brings to the Seattle Sounders. With the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup looming, it’s just business as usual for the 28-year-old Englishman.
“These are the stages that you want to play on as a footballer and showcase yourself and your team’s ability against the best teams in the world,” said Kent.
On Kent’s run to the Europa League Final, the Scottish giants took down Germany’s Borussia Dortmund, Serbia’s Red Star Belgrade, Portugal’s Braga and another Bundesliga side in RB Leipzig.
The Sounders face an even more daunting path, squaring off against South American champions Botafogo, perennial Spanish contenders Atlético Madrid and reigning UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain.
“It’s a tournament with all the best teams around the world, so it’s quite exciting,” said Kent. “If you ever want to win trophies, you have to approach every game like it’s a final. You have to set a good tempo to the start of the tournament and get off to a good start and showing other teams that you’re not just here to take part.”
The chance to compete in the Club World Cup was one of the reasons why Kent decided to join the Sounders in the first place when he signed as a free agent at the end of March. He was keen on jumpstarting his career in a place where he felt he could enjoy himself on the pitch again, and the challenge of showcasing himself this summer among the world’s best was an added bonus.
Kent has still yet to score through almost 400 minutes across nine matches with the Sounders, but he has three assists and has unlocked a new level of dynamism down the left flank that has opened up a tremendous amount of space in the attacking third.
“You still want to show people across Europe and worldwide what your abilities are as a footballer and what you can still do with the ball,” he said. “It was a perfect opportunity to put myself in and be back on the world stage and showing people what I can do.”
This year marks the first of an expanded 32-team Club World Cup, the biggest by far in FIFA’s history, so there are a lot of unknowns about what the atmosphere and on-field environment are going to look like. Traditionally, European clubs competing in summer competitions abroad tend to treat them more like friendlies. At the very least, they’re used as opportunities to tinker with formations and give their younger and lesser-used players valuable experience while veterans enjoy some much-needed time off after a lengthy season.
Pride Night (vs. Austin FC)
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Kickoff at 7:30 p.m. PT on June 28.
But where this competition differs is just how much money FIFA has invested. With the potential financial implications at play, it gives teams incentive to throw out first-choice XIs and do everything they can to win, which is a test that Kent is eager to face.
“I think [clubs are] going to take it quite seriously,” he said. “I’m not quite sure what the [external] expectation is [for us], but in-house, we want to compete the best that we can and show people what we can do as a team.”
Despite the excitement, the Sounders know they have one massive MLS task to take care of before they open against Botafogo on June 15. Seattle heads north of the border this Sunday to take on the Cascadia rivals and Western Conference-leading Vancouver Whitecaps (6 p.m. PT; MLS Season Pass on Apple TV) with a chance to pull within three points of first place heading into the break.
“It’s the most talked about tournament in football right now,” said Kent. “Everybody is excited for it, especially with the caliber of teams that are in the tournament. But for us, we have a game this weekend in Vancouver. It’s trying to find the right balance of what’s important and right now that is the most important game for us this weekend. As soon as that’s over, that’s when our focus will shift to this tournament.”
