Cardoso Praises Sundowns’ Resilience Despite Dortmund Defeat

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso expressed mixed emotions following their loss to Borussia Dortmund in the FIFA Club World Cup on Saturday.

Despite the defeat, Cardoso was proud of his team’s performance, highlighting their resilience and competitive spirit.

“I feel many emotions right now, and the first one is that obviously we’re not happy with the results,” Cardoso said.

“At the same time, I can be happy for the performance we displayed. With all due respect to Borussia, we pushed the level of the game, and we played the game to the highest level with such a competitive opponent.”

Cardoso praised his team’s ability to stay in the game despite the challenging opponent.

“I’m very proud of the level of football that players played,” he said.

“I’m very proud of the resilience they had throughout the game, so that we could finish the game with the result.”

The former Esperance Sportive de Tunis mentor acknowledged that Dortmund’s quality was a significant factor in the outcome.

“It’s essential that people understand the qualities of Dortmund and also from Sundowns’ part,” he said.

“What was important was to finish the game, but we also need to understand that when you play against a team like this, they penalize you with one or two chances.”

Despite the loss, Cardoso’s team still has a chance to progress to the knockout stage, but they will need to secure a win against Fluminense on Wednesday. The upcoming match promises to be an exciting encounter, with both teams vying for a spot in the next round.

“All in all, I’m so proud of the boys; they played very well, and the results don’t display what we did on the pitch,” Cardoso added.

With a positive attitude and a strong performance, Sundowns will look to bounce back and make a strong impression against Fluminense.

The Brazilians are currently sitting in third place in Group F, but a win would seal their knockout stage spot.