Germany’s Borussia Dortmund edged South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns FC out of first place in its group after a 4-3 defeat at the 25th match of the FIFA Club World Cup on Saturday afternoon. The match was the third to take place at Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium.
The stands at TQL were a wash of yellow for the game, with a total 14,006 spectators showing up for both Dortmund and Sundowns. Game attendance at Club World Cup games across the country has fluctuated—some with fans sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, others with sparse groups spread throughout a mostly empty stadium. The June 18 match at TQL sold only 5,282 tickets in comparison to the 21,152 in attendance on June 15, but both numbers were nothing in comparison to the records set so far: a June 15 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid at Los Angeles’s Rose Bowl Stadium pulled in 80,619, while the game between Sundowns and Ulsan sold only 3,412.
At this point in the tournament, all 32 clubs participating in the Club World Cup have had their debut game. Dortmund last played on June 17 against Brazil’s Fluminense FC, resulting in a 0-0 draw. The match was a big moment for 19-year-old midfielder Jobe Bellingham (77), the younger brother of English soccer star and Real Madrid FC midfielder Jude Bellingham, who officially started with Dortmund less than two weeks ago, on June 10.
Dortmund is one of the most popular clubs in Germany, albeit not quite as successful as FC Bayern Munich, who hail from Cincinnati’s sister city. In the second match of the Club World Cup on June 15, Bayern crushed New Zealand’s Auckland City FC in a record-breaking 10-0 defeat at TQL Stadium. Bayern ranks at the top of the Bundesliga for the 2024-25 season, while Dortmund clocks in at fourth in the league. Still, the Black and Yellow have earned its fair share of accolades, including eight league titles, five German Cups, six German Super Cups, a UEFA Champions League win, European Cup Winners’ Cup, and Intercontinental Cup. Although the team has yet to garner accolades since its last Cup win in 2021, its performances in its last four campaigns in the Club World Cup cemented its place in this year’s tournament.
Also on June 17, Sundowns emerged victorious 1-0 against South Korean side Ulsan HD. Like Wednesday’s match at TQL between CF Pachuca and FC Salzburg, the game was delayed for more than hour due to inclement weather. After six fruitless attempts at goal by Sundowns, forward Iqraam Rayners (13) scored the only goal of the match at the 36th minute. Back and forth attempts by both sides were unsuccessful the rest of the game, but launched Sundowns to the top of the rankings in its group.
The Sundowns—nicknamed The Brazilians despite hailing from South Africa for their yellow, green, and blue kit—are one of the younger teams in the tournament, founded in 1970. Despite that, the club is a 15-time winner of the Premier Soccer League, and has also claimed six Nedbank Cups, four Telkom Cups, five MTN 8 Cups, one CAF Super Cup, CAF Champions League, and African Football League. The team was voted CAF Club of the Year in 2016 and remains the best club in its league today.
Saturday’s match was the most action-packed that TQL has experienced in the tournament yet. Dortmund and Sundowns have vastly different styles of play. The German side played more slowly, relying on tactical crosses across the field to move the ball and using their size to their advantage in both ground and aerial duels (the average height of Dortmund’s lineup is six feet tall). The South African club, however, relied more on speed and quick maneuvers to power their way through Dortmund’s formation.
Sundowns started the half off fast and strong—midfielder Lucas Ribeiro (10) dribbled through Dortmund’s defense and scored the first goal of the match in the 11th minute. The Brazilians maintained the lead in possession and attempts at goal for the remainder of the 45, but despite that, the half ended in Dortmund’s favor at 3-1.
Dortmund scored its first goal just five minutes after Sundowns did, off a shot by Felix Nmecha (8). Serhou Guirassy (9) secured the second in the 34th minute, and in his first starting game for the German club, Bellingham pulled off the third, right at the 45-minute mark after fighting his way through Sundowns’s defensive line—an easy pass into the net that paralyzed goalkeeper Ronwen Williams (30).
The second half remained relatively uneventful until the 59th minute, when Dortmund received its fourth point of the match. But the goal wasn’t scored by a Dortmund player—rather, an attempted shot was deflected by Sundowns defender Khuliso Mudau (25), right into his own net.
Spectators could feel the shift in energy on the field after that point. Just three minutes later, Sundowns took the ball to the other end of the field, and forward Rayners scored the second goal of the match for the South African club, bringing the score to 4-2.
The following 20 minutes were a wash of activity. In a scramble to even out the score, Sundowns attempted various passes down the field and tried to power their way through crowds of Dortmund defensive players. In the 64th minute, Dortmund midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka (17) received a yellow card, followed two minutes later by a yellow to Sundowns forward Tashreeq Matthews (17). In the 85th minute, Dortmund received yet another yellow card on forward Maximilian Beier (14).
Right at the 90th minute, Sundowns took the ball up the field and forward Lego Mothiba (35) scored a third point for the South African side off an assist by Kutlwano Letlhaku (16). The Brazilians grabbed the ball hastily to try and round off another point in the seven remaining minutes of stoppage time, but the Black and Yellow slowed play in an attempt to hold them off, and all that Sundowns gained was another yellow card, this time to midfielder Marcelo Allende (11), and Dortmund claimed victory.
Dortmund now ranks at the top of Group F, with Sundowns just one point behind.
Sundowns next play Fluminense FC at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami at 3 p.m. on June 25. Dortmund will remain in Cincinnati through the next few days to play South Korea’s Ultra HD at TQL Stadium at 3 p.m. on the same day. The match will be the last Club World Cup game to take place in Cincinnati.
Facebook Comments