Sundowns’ FIFA Club World Cup Dreams Dashed

Mamelodi Sundowns’ FIFA Club World Cup 2025 campaign came to an end after a 0-0 draw against Fluminense at the Hard Rock Stadium on Wednesday evening.

The result saw Sundowns finish third in Group F with four points, while Fluminense secured second place with five points.

The match got off to a promising start for Sundowns, with the South African champions creating a few chances in the first 15 minutes.

However, they failed to capitalize on these opportunities, and Fluminense’s goalkeeper, Fábio Maciel, made crucial saves to deny Lucas Ribeiro, Tashreeq Matthews, and Divine Lunga.

In a notable moment, Germán Cano broke through Sundowns’ defense with a one-on-one opportunity against Ronwen Williams, but the Bafana Bafana captain made an impressive save. The assistant referee flagged Cano for offside immediately after the save.

Despite both teams enjoying scoring opportunities, the first half ended goalless. Coach Miguel Cardoso introduced Jayden Adams at the start of the second half for the yellow-carded Teboho Mokoena, which had a significant impact on the game. Sundowns created several chances but failed to score.

A blow to Sundowns came in the 60th minute when defender Keanu Cupido suffered an injury when he was trying to block a shot from the cross, prompting Cardoso to make a forced substitution, introducing Mosa Lebusa and Arthur Sales.

However, neither team managed to create significant chances after the substitution, and the game remained balanced.

In a bid to strengthen their attack, Cardoso introduced Namibian international Peter Shalulile in place of Lucas Ribeiro after the cooling break in the 75th minute.

Unfortunately for Sundowns, they couldn’t find the back of the net, and the match ended 0-0.

As a result, Fluminense will face the winner of Group E in the last 16, while Borussia Dortmund, who finished top of Group F with seven points, will take on the runner-up of Group E. Dortmund secured their position with a win against Ulsan HD this evening as well.

With this result, Sundowns join other African teams eliminated from the competition, including Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca, and Esperance Sportive de Tunis.