Club World Cup Daily: Dortmund and Fluminense advance, but Sundowns made their mark

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is disconnected and running, and has produced plentifulness of talking points and storylines already. Let's drawback you up connected what's happening, what you've missed and what's inactive to come.

We volition update this record passim each matchday with the latest reporting, investigation and amusive from the competition.

The lead: Sun sets connected Sundowns' awesome CWC showing

Mamelodi Sundowns stunned spectators astatine Hard Rock Stadium successful Miami Gardens, Florida, managing a 0-0 draw against Brazilian giants Fluminense. Despite their champion efforts and respective moments of dominance connected the field, however, the South African squad fell conscionable 1 constituent abbreviated of qualifying to the knockout circular of the Club World Cup.

Though their Club World Cup travel came to a adjacent connected Wednesday, Mamelodi Sundowns near their mark. They entered the tourney arsenic a enigma to galore and overlooked by astir each arsenic Borussia Dortmund and Fluminense dominated the Group F narrative. But erstwhile the tourney kicked off, the squad instantly made headlines and stole the spotlight connected and disconnected the field.

The South African broadside bushed Ulsan HD 1-0 and shook up Borussia Dortmund with a constrictive 4-3 defeat earlier entering the last radical signifier lucifer of the contention with hopes of making the circular of 16. They kicked disconnected the lucifer stronger than their Brazilian hostile and continued to power the shot arsenic the crippled progressed. By the 55th minute, Sundowns had 3 shots connected extremity to the Brazilian team's zero, portion holding 71% possession. At the last whistle, the Sundowns had recorded 7 full shots; 554 passes, compared with Fluminense's 258; and 68% possession. The onslaught tested Fluminense goalkeeper Fábio, forcing him into game-changing saves successful the archetypal half.

In the stands, the team's supporters were tiny successful numbers but mighty successful energy. Though outnumbered and often outsung by Fluminense fans astatine Hard Rock Stadium, the radical of 50 oregon truthful Sundowns fans dressed successful yellowish and greenish continued to rejoice. The radical chanted with accompanying choreography and drumbeat, creating a contagious ambiance that inspired adjacent neutral spectators to articulation successful the signing and dancing. A mates Mamelodi Sundown fans wore decorative headdresses with sequins and feathers, anxious to amusement their enactment for their team.

The Club World Cup is intended to springiness teams from astir the globe a signifier to shine, and Mamelodi Sundowns capitalized connected the accidental by showing planetary spectators their talent. Despite Sundowns' aboriginal exit, each passing show grew the team's planetary reputation, and gained the nine immoderate fans on the way. -- Lizzy Becherano

Today's apical Club World Cup news

• Madrid prima Mbappé backmost successful training
• Connelly: Why each last-16 squad will, won't win
• Modric to articulation Milan aft Club World Cup

Sights and sounds astir FIFA Club World Cup

Dortmund get the occupation done

There's a existent consciousness that the apical European teams are pacing themselves successful this Club World Cup, and rightly truthful considering the oft-repeated lines astir this being their offseason, however bushed they are, the vigor being ridiculous, and truthful on. None of the UEFA contingent mightiness embody this much than Borussia Dortmund, who cautiously played their mode to a sedate 1-0 triumph implicit Ulsan HD astatine Cincinnati's TQL Stadium -- a effect that ensures they decorativeness apical of Group E. Their reward: other rest, with their round-of-16 crippled the last 1 of the slate connected July 1 successful Atlanta (a stadium with a extortion and aerial conditioning), and a apt day with River Plate oregon Monterrey.

Daniel Svensson notched the game's lone extremity astir 10 minutes earlier halftime aft Ulsan tried (and failed) to play retired from their punishment area. The escaped shot spilled into Jobe Bellingham's way wrong the box, and helium calmly squared it for the Swedish winger to casually occurrence beyond a wrong-footed Jo Hyeon-woo. Dortmund hardly broke a sweat passim but did capsicum the Ulsan extremity to the tune of 28 shots (11 connected target), forcing a superb show from Jo (10 saves, preventing 2.01 xG) nether the sweltering midafternoon Midwestern heat.

We besides got a glimpse of oft-injured and oft-out of favour U.S. playmaker Giovanni Reyna, who enjoyed his archetypal minutes of the Club World Cup successful a 12-minute cameo that saw him implicit conscionable 4 passes. (Remember this for trivia purposes should it beryllium to be, arsenic everyone suspects, his last quality for the Bundesliga broadside earlier yet different summertime restart elsewhere.)

Yan Couto, Bellingham and Julien Duranville each caused havoc but couldn't treble Dortmund's lead, portion Ulsan simply couldn't get the shot successful a bid for a face-saving comeback, having little than 30% of the shot successful the last quarter-hour amid a raft of precocious substitutions for some sides. Dortmund volition request to beryllium overmuch sharper from present if they're to marque a heavy tally and cod much of this competition's prodigious prize purse, particularly with a tally to the last that could see Manchester City oregon Real Madrid successful the quarterfinals and (perhaps) Paris Saint-Germain successful the semis. That said, 1 volition ideate manager Niko Kovac is pleased with the quiescent crescendo of his squad amid a hard rebuild. There's inactive plentifulness of enactment to beryllium done if they're to genuinely show they're "back" arsenic a unit successful Europe, but this isn't a atrocious start. -- James Tyler

Delap's alleviation astatine scoring archetypal Chelsea goal

PHILADELPHIA -- Liam Delap needed lone 3 appearances to people his archetypal Chelsea extremity but admitted his "relief" astatine getting disconnected the people with Benfica up adjacent for the Blues connected Saturday successful the circular of 16.

The £30 cardinal summertime signing from Ipswich Town recovered the nett with a astute crook and decorativeness arsenic the Blues bushed Espérance Sportive de Tunis successful Philadelphia connected Tuesday to scope the circular of 16. All eyes are connected Delap, too, fixed Nicolas Jackson is suspended against Benfica aft picking up a two-game ban for his reddish paper against Flamengo.

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Maresca 'proud' of Chelsea making it to past 16 of CWC

Enzo Maresca speaks connected Chelsea making it to the past 16 of the Club World Cup, arsenic good arsenic however Liam Delap has settled into the Chelsea squad.

Said Delap: "I came successful to people goals, and to get the archetypal 1 implicit and done with is simply a large feeling. There's ever a small spot of alleviation and past you consciousness much confidence, and coming to a nine similar this, you person to person assurance and belief."

Benfica volition correspond a considerably tougher test, and though it comes aboriginal successful Delap's clip astatine Chelsea, it is simply a task helium is relishing.

"That's wherefore I came to this club, that's wherefore I started playing shot to play connected large stages similar this, and I'm truly excited," helium said. "This tourney has truly helped maine settee in, due to the fact that if we were backmost astatine the grooming ground, everyone would beryllium disappearing astatine 3 o'clock. Here, we're each unneurotic each the clip and it's a large mode to settee in. Everyone's been truly helpful." -- James Olley

No interruption for FC Salzburg

FC Salzburg are wrong touching region of a spot successful the knockout stages and could adjacent suffice from Group H with a decision against Real Madrid connected Friday if the crippled betwixt Al Hilal and Pachuca fails to nutrient a winner. However, amid each the sound from the teams successful the large European leagues astir burnout and deficiency of rest, Salzburg's workload would astir apt nonstop astir of the Premier League and LaLiga stars into meltdown.

The Austrian squad ended its home play with a 4-2 triumph against Rapid Vienna connected May 24 and began its Club World Cup run against Pachuca a specified 25 days later. But portion the English, Spanish, French, Italian and German teams astatine the Club World Cup are acceptable to springiness their players a interruption aft the tournament, successful mentation for the caller play successful August, Salzburg commencement their Champions League qualification run against Norway's SK Brann connected July 23. And earlier Thomas Letsch's squad plays the 2nd limb 7 days later, they indispensable look Union Procon Dietach successful the Austrian Cup connected July 26.

If Salzburg marque it to the Club World Cup knockout stages -- they'd request astatine slightest a gully against Real Madrid connected Thursday nighttime to person a accidental -- their prospects of a interruption look nonexistent. -- Mark Ogden

Star subordinate of the day

To beryllium named later...

Match previews, likelihood for Thursday

Juventus vs. Manchester City (Group G; Orlando, Fla., 3 p.m. ET)

Odds (via ESPN BET): Juventus (+350), Draw (+270), Man City (-130)

After 2 games against humble opposition, it's hard to cognize wherever Manchester City are at. There are caller players and caller coaches. But is this genuinely a caller start, oregon are the issues that dogged them past twelvemonth past inactive there? The Group G decider against Juventus should archer america a lot.

Pep Guardiola played 2 antithetic XIs against Wydad AC and Al Ain -- the squad helium picks against Juventus should beryllium a wide denotation of however keen helium is to triumph this tournament. Will Rúben Dias and Rodri get their archetypal starts successful a beardown team, oregon volition it beryllium much rotation to negociate minutes?

With an awesome show and a triumph against Juventus, City would go 1 of the favorites. Lose oregon gully -- frankincense mounting up a imaginable last-16 necktie against Real Madrid -- and they could beryllium facing an aboriginal formation home. Thursday's crippled astatine Camping World Stadium should reply a batch of questions. -- Rob Dawson

Wydad AC vs. Al Ain (Group G; Washington, D.C., 3 p.m. ET)

Odds: Wydad AC (+140), Draw (+250), Al-Ain (+175)

Wydad's incredible, energetic traveling enactment has been 1 of the highlights of the Club World Cup, which makes it specified a shame that neither they nor Thursday's opponents, Al Ain, person immoderate imaginable way to beforehand to the circular of 16 fixed results to date.

In the end, Wydad's vigor and committedness to numbers successful onslaught gave some Man City and Juventus a little fright, but some teams had the prime and composure to prime through. Expect a akin gusto astatine Audi Field from them and, perhaps, a fewer goals: Only Auckland City FC (17) person conceded much than Al Ain (11) successful this contention to date. -- Tyler

Al Hilal vs. Pachuca (Group H; Nashville, Tenn., 9 p.m. ET)

Odds: Al Hilal (-160), Draw (+333), Pachuca (+380)

Preview to follow...

FC Salzburg vs. Real Madrid (Group H; Philadelphia, Penn., 9 p.m. ET)

Odds: FC Salzburg (+700), Draw (+500), Real Madrid (-380)

Kylian Mbappé returned to Real Madrid grooming connected Wednesday aft a week recovering from gastroenteritis, but helium hasn't traveled to marque his tourney debut against Salzburg, staying down successful Palm Beach. In his absence, young guardant Gonzalo García has done much than capable -- with a extremity and assistance truthful acold -- to proceed up beforehand if Mbappé isn't acceptable to start.

This crippled is different accidental for caller manager Xabi Alonso to get person to the benignant of Madrid squad helium wants to see, aft defender Raúl Asencio's aboriginal reddish paper against Pachuca meant Alonso's tactical gameplan had to beryllium torn up aft conscionable 7 minutes. New accomplishment Dean Huijsen has impressed truthful far, portion Trent Alexander-Arnold has made dependable progress. Antonio Rüdiger could commencement alongside them successful defense, having travel disconnected the seat against Pachuca. And there'll beryllium eyes connected Rodrygo -- with speculation implicit his aboriginal this summertime -- aft helium didn't play a azygous infinitesimal successful that crippled successful Charlotte.

As for low-profile Salzburg, they've enactment themselves successful a decent position, with 4 points from 2 games truthful far. The effect here, and successful Al Hilal vs. Pachuca, volition find if they advancement to the past 16. -- Alex Kirkland