Mamelodi Sundowns are bracing for their toughest test yet at the FIFA Club World Cup as they prepare to face German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund on Saturday at the TQL Stadium.

The South African champions, who finished as runners-up in the CAF Champions League earlier this month, made a strong start to their campaign with a 1-0 win over South Korea’s Ulsan HD. The result placed them atop Group F, but head coach Miguel Cardoso knows a different challenge awaits against the Bundesliga giants.

“Upsets can happen when the mental conviction of the team is strong and their emotional connection is so strong that magic can happen,” Cardoso said at a pre-match press conference on Friday. “That’s what I will try to create — an ambiance of ambition, conviction, determination, and the right emotion to play such a game and produce a good result.”

Despite their strong start, Cardoso admits Sundowns are likely to be on the defensive against Dortmund, a side known for their high pressing and aggressive transitions.

“We’re going to play against a team that is very aggressive. It’s a team that scores 40% of their goals from counter pressings,” the Portuguese tactician noted.

This scenario will be unfamiliar territory for Sundowns, who typically control games through dominant possession both in South Africa’s domestic league and on the continental stage.

“We won’t be used to not having the ball much, and obviously that will require us to be resilient and keep organised — even when you are just waiting for the moment to get the ball again,” Cardoso added.

Sundowns are currently the only African side to register a win in this year’s tournament, and the coach says the team is drawing strength from that accomplishment.

“We are very proud of that. What has happened now is that we have opened up a chance for ourselves and turned dreams into objectives,” he said. “But we know what we have ahead and it won’t be easy.”

After facing Dortmund, Sundowns will wrap up their group stage campaign against Brazilian giants Fluminense next Wednesday.

Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

Flamengo delivered a potent reminder that the so-called superiority of European teams in club football is fading quickly after the Brazilian outfit beat Chelsea 3-1 in a Club World Cup contest that felt like a home match thousands of miles from Rio.

The Brazilian champions turned Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field into a tropical carnival, with 55,000 passionate supporters creating an atmosphere that was in stark contrast to Chelsea’s casual approach to the tournament.

Just 24 hours after Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said the competition had “a pre-season feeling” to it and that he would rotate key starters throughout the group stage, his side became the second European giants in two days to be humbled by Brazilian opposition.

Friday’s result followed Paris St Germain’s shock 1-0 defeat by Botafogo a day earlier that had ended Europe’s 13-year dominance over South American opposition in intercontinental club football.

Pedro Neto’s opener for Chelsea proved to be a false start as they were given the run around following the interval. Flamengo, under the tactical guidance of former Blues defender Filipe Luis, responded with a ruthlessness that their theoretically superior rivals could not match.

Bruno Henrique and Danilo struck in quick succession to flip the contest, before Nicolas Jackson’s reckless red card – for a studs-up challenge that illustrated Chelsea’s loss of composure – paved the way for youngster Wallace Yan to deliver the coup de grace.

“When we conceded the first goal their fans started to be loud, and immediately after we conceded the second one,” Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella told DAZN, his words revealing the psychological impact of Flamengo’s thunderous support.

Following Yan’s goal, the supporters let out synchronised chants of “olé” to hail their team’s achievement.

On Thursday, Botafogo put on a brilliant defensive performance to pull off the unexpected win over PSG, who had been in imperious form as they followed up their 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan in the Champions League final by routing Atletico Madrid 4-0 in their Club World Cup opener.

Botafogo’s solid discipline left PSG looking feeble and a shadow of the team that dominated European football throughout the season.

“Botafogo were the team that has defended best against us all season. They were efficient. The only thing left for me is to congratulate them,” PSG boss Luis Enrique told reporters.

With Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami also victorious against Porto, European clubs are in danger of returning home empty-handed from a tournament they had been odds-on favourite to win.

-Reuters

Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

Bayern Munich reignited the flickering flame of European honour at the Club World Cup, battling through a tense, fiery showdown to claim a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Boca Juniors and storm into the last 16 on Friday.

Backed by a roaring sea of blue-and-yellow clad fans who turned the Hard Rock Stadium into a noisy outpost of their “Bombonera”, Boca Juniors fought fiercely, but Bayern’s resilience shone through in the closing stages.

After Harry Kane gave the German champions an early lead, Boca equalised through Miguel Merentiel, only for Michael Olise to score a late winner that lifted Bayern to the top of Group C on six points, two ahead of Benfica.

Boca, on one point, remain in contention as they face amateurs Auckland City in the last round of matches while Bayern will take on Benfica.

The win marked a welcome rebound for European sides, who have faced a tough run at the tournament with Porto, Paris St Germain and Chelsea all suffering recent defeats.

In a thrilling second half, Boca made Bayern fight for every ball in a match brimming with tension and bite.

In a thunderous atmosphere, the German side made a bright start and thought they had taken the lead when Olise’s in-swinging corner flew directly into the net, only for VAR to spot a foul on Boca’s goalkeeper.

The pressure eventually told in the 18th minute when Harry Kane latched onto a loose clearance and toe-poked a composed finish into the bottom corner after Konrad Laimer’s cross from the right for his first goal in the tournament after drawing a blank in his team’s 10-0 demolition of Auckland City.

Serge Gnabry scrambled the ball across the face of goal minutes later, but Kingsley Coman somehow failed to connect with what would have been a simple tap-in.

Manuel Neuer had little to do in the first half, though he was called into action to make two smart saves from Kevin Zenon as Boca refused to back down.

The Argentine side pressed higher after the break, showing typical grit and tenacity in the duels and slightly unsettling Bayern with their relentless aggression.

Spurred on by deafening chants from their travelling support, Boca clawed their way back into the contest, forcing several anxious moments in the German defence as tempers flared and challenges flew in.

In the 66th minute, Olise was harassed off the ball by three Boca players and Merentiel was fed in down the right and kept his composure to skip past Josip Stanisic before firing a shot past Neuer, sending the crowd into rapture as the whole stadium trembled.

Bayern’s composure eventually told as Olise bent one into the bottom corner after being set up by Kane six minutes from time.

-Reuters

Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H