Club World Cup Daily: Sundowns fall short, Dortmund prevail
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is off and running, and has produced plenty of talking points and storylines already. Let’s catch you up on what’s happening, what you’ve missed and what’s still to come.
We will update this file throughout each matchday with the latest reporting, analysis and fun from the competition.
The lead: Sun sets on Sundowns’ impressive CWC showing
Mamelodi Sundowns stunned spectators at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, managing a 0-0 draw against Brazilian giants Fluminense. Despite their best efforts and several moments of dominance on the field, however, the South African team fell just one point short of qualifying to the knockout round of the Club World Cup.
Though their Club World Cup journey came to a close on Wednesday, Mamelodi Sundowns left their mark. They entered the tournament as a mystery to many and overlooked by almost all as Borussia Dortmund and Fluminense dominated the Group F narrative. But once the tournament kicked off, the team immediately made headlines and stole the spotlight on and off the field.
The South African side beat Ulsan HD 1-0 and shook up Borussia Dortmund with a narrow 4-3 defeat before entering the final group stage match of the competition with hopes of making the round of 16. They kicked off the match stronger than their Brazilian opponent and continued to control the ball as the game progressed. By the 55th minute, Sundowns had three shots on goal to the Brazilian team’s zero, while holding 71% possession. At the final whistle, the Sundowns had recorded seven total shots; 554 passes, compared with Fluminense’s 258; and 68% possession. The attack tested Fluminense goalkeeper Fábio, forcing him into game-changing saves in the first half.
In the stands, the team’s supporters were small in numbers but mighty in energy. Though outnumbered and often outsung by Fluminense fans at Hard Rock Stadium, the group of 50 or so Sundowns fans dressed in yellow and green continued to rejoice. The group chanted with accompanying choreography and drumbeat, creating a contagious atmosphere that inspired nearby neutral spectators to join in the signing and dancing. A couple Mamelodi Sundown fans wore decorative headdresses with sequins and feathers, eager to show their support for their team.
The Club World Cup is intended to give teams from around the globe a stage to shine, and Mamelodi Sundowns capitalized on the opportunity by showing international spectators their talent. Despite Sundowns’ early exit, each passing performance grew the team’s international reputation, and gained the club some fans along the way. — Lizzy Becherano
Today’s top Club World Cup news
• Madrid star Mbappé back in training
• Connelly: Why every last-16 team will, won’t win
• Modric to join Milan after Club World Cup
Sights and sounds around FIFA Club World Cup
Dortmund get the job done
There’s a real sense that the top European teams are pacing themselves in this Club World Cup, and rightly so considering the oft-repeated lines about this being their offseason, how tired they are, the heat being ridiculous, and so on. None of the UEFA contingent might embody this more than Borussia Dortmund, who carefully played their way to a sedate 1-0 win over Ulsan HD at Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium — a result that ensures they finish top of Group E. Their reward: extra rest, with their round-of-16 game the final one of the slate on July 1 in Atlanta (a stadium with a roof and air conditioning), and a likely date with River Plate or Monterrey.
Daniel Svensson notched the game’s only goal about 10 minutes before halftime after Ulsan tried (and failed) to play out from their penalty area. The loose ball spilled into Jobe Bellingham’s path inside the box, and he calmly squared it for the Swedish winger to casually fire beyond a wrong-footed Jo Hyeon-woo. Dortmund barely broke a sweat throughout but did pepper the Ulsan goal to the tune of 28 shots (11 on target), forcing a superb performance from Jo (10 saves, preventing 2.01 xG) under the sweltering midafternoon Midwestern heat.
We also got a glimpse of oft-injured and oft-out of favor U.S. playmaker Giovanni Reyna, who enjoyed his first minutes of the Club World Cup in a 12-minute cameo that saw him complete just four passes. (Remember this for trivia purposes should it prove to be, as everyone suspects, his final appearance for the Bundesliga side before yet another summer restart elsewhere.)
Yan Couto, Bellingham and Julien Duranville all caused havoc but couldn’t double Dortmund’s lead, while Ulsan simply couldn’t get the ball in a bid for a face-saving comeback, having less than 30% of the ball in the final quarter-hour amid a raft of late substitutions for both sides. Dortmund will need to be much sharper from here if they’re to make a deep run and collect more of this competition’s prodigious prize purse, especially with a run to the final that could include Manchester City or Real Madrid in the quarterfinals and (perhaps) Paris Saint-Germain in the semis. That said, one will imagine manager Niko Kovac is pleased with the quiet crescendo of his team amid a difficult rebuild. There’s still plenty of work to be done if they’re to truly demonstrate they’re “back” as a force in Europe, but this isn’t a bad start. — James Tyler
Delap’s relief at scoring first Chelsea goal
PHILADELPHIA — Liam Delap needed only three appearances to score his first Chelsea goal but admitted his “relief” at getting off the mark with Benfica up next for the Blues on Saturday in the round of 16.
The £30 million summer signing from Ipswich Town found the net with a smart turn and finish as the Blues beat Espérance Sportive de Tunis in Philadelphia on Tuesday to reach the round of 16. All eyes are on Delap, too, given Nicolas Jackson is suspended against Benfica after picking up a two-game ban for his red card against Flamengo.
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Maresca ‘proud’ of Chelsea making it to last 16 of CWC
Enzo Maresca speaks on Chelsea making it to the last 16 of the Club World Cup, as well as how Liam Delap has settled into the Chelsea squad.
Said Delap: “I came in to score goals, and to get the first one over and done with is a great feeling. There’s always a little bit of relief and then you feel more confidence, and coming to a club like this, you have to have confidence and belief.”
Benfica will represent a considerably tougher test, and although it comes early in Delap’s time at Chelsea, it is a task he is relishing.
“That’s why I came to this club, that’s why I started playing football to play on big stages like this, and I’m really excited,” he said. “This tournament has really helped me settle in, because if we were back at the training ground, everyone would be disappearing at 3 o’clock. Here, we’re all together all the time and it’s a great way to settle in. Everyone’s been really helpful.” — James Olley
No break for FC Salzburg
FC Salzburg are within touching distance of a place in the knockout stages and could even qualify from Group H with a defeat against Real Madrid on Friday if the game between Al Hilal and Pachuca fails to produce a winner. However, amid all the noise from the teams in the major European leagues about burnout and lack of rest, Salzburg’s workload would probably send most of the Premier League and LaLiga stars into meltdown.
The Austrian team ended its domestic season with a 4-2 win against Rapid Vienna on May 24 and began its Club World Cup campaign against Pachuca a mere 25 days later. But while the English, Spanish, French, Italian and German teams at the Club World Cup are set to give their players a break after the tournament, in preparation for the new season in August, Salzburg start their Champions League qualification campaign against Norway’s SK Brann on July 23. And before Thomas Letsch’s team plays the second leg seven days later, they must face Union Procon Dietach in the Austrian Cup on July 26.
If Salzburg make it to the Club World Cup knockout stages — they’d need at least a draw against Real Madrid on Thursday night to have a chance — their prospects of a break seem nonexistent. — Mark Ogden
Star player of the day
To be named later…
Match previews, odds for Thursday
Odds (via ESPN BET After two games against modest opposition, it’s hard to know where Manchester City are at. There are new players and new coaches. But is this truly a fresh start, or are the issues that dogged them last year last still there? The Group G decider against Juventus should tell us a lot. Pep Guardiola played two different XIs against Wydad AC and Al Ain — the team he picks against Juventus should be a clear indication of how keen he is to win this tournament. Will Rúben Dias and Rodri get their first starts in a strong team, or will it be more rotation to manage minutes? With an impressive performance and a win against Juventus, City would become one of the favorites. Lose or draw — thus setting up a potential last-16 tie against Real Madrid — and they could be facing an early flight home. Thursday’s game at Camping World Stadium should answer a lot of questions. — Rob Dawson Odds: Wydad AC (+140), Draw (+250), Al-Ain (+175) Wydad’s incredible, energetic traveling support has been one of the highlights of the Club World Cup, which makes it such a shame that neither they nor Thursday’s opponents, Al Ain, have any possible path to advance to the round of 16 given results to date. In the end, Wydad’s energy and commitment to numbers in attack gave both Man City and Juventus a brief fright, but both teams had the quality and composure to pick through. Expect a similar gusto at Audi Field from them and, perhaps, a few goals: Only Auckland City FC (17) have conceded more than Al Ain (11) in this competition to date. — Tyler Odds: Al Hilal (-160), Draw (+333), Pachuca (+380) Preview to follow… Odds: FC Salzburg (+700), Draw (+500), Real Madrid (-380) Kylian Mbappé returned to Real Madrid training on Wednesday after a week recovering from gastroenteritis, but he hasn’t traveled to make his tournament debut against Salzburg, staying behind in Palm Beach. In his absence, young forward Gonzalo García has done more than enough — with a goal and assist so far — to continue up front if Mbappé isn’t ready to start. This game is another opportunity for new coach Xabi Alonso to get closer to the kind of Madrid team he wants to see, after defender Raúl Asencio’s early red card against Pachuca meant Alonso’s tactical gameplan had to be torn up after just seven minutes. New arrival Dean Huijsen has impressed so far, while Trent Alexander-Arnold has made steady progress. Antonio Rüdiger could start alongside them in defense, having come off the bench against Pachuca. And there’ll be eyes on Rodrygo — with speculation over his future this summer — after he didn’t play a single minute in that game in Charlotte. As for low-profile Salzburg, they’ve put themselves in a decent position, with four points from two games so far. The result here, and in Al Hilal vs. Pachuca, will determine if they progress to the last 16. — Alex KirklandJuventus vs. Manchester City (Group G; Orlando, Fla., 3 p.m. ET)
): Juventus (+350), Draw (+270), Man City (-130)Wydad AC vs. Al Ain (Group G; Washington, D.C., 3 p.m. ET)
Al Hilal vs. Pachuca (Group H; Nashville, Tenn., 9 p.m. ET)
FC Salzburg vs. Real Madrid (Group H; Philadelphia, Penn., 9 p.m. ET)