Sundowns' Club World Cup dream not over yet despite loss to Dortmund

Mamelodi Sundowns will have to beat Brazilian team Fluminense in their last Group F match at the Fifa Club World Cup in the US to make it to last 16 of the competition after giving away an early lead to end up losing 4-3 to German giants Borussia Dortmund at the TQL Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday.

Sundowns' moment of ecstasy turned into agony when they couldn't hold onto an early lead they took through their Brazilian striker Lucas Ribeiro.

A victory would have assured Sundowns of their place in the second round after winning their opening match 1-0 against Korean team Ulsan HD on Wednesday, while Dortmund had started the competition with a 0-0 draw against Fluminense. 

Naivety in defence brought Dortmund back into the game after Sundowns had looked in firm control of the match after taking a deserved lead through Riberio in the 11th minute.

Ribeiro got possession from his own half and defied the heat to beat two defenders who were challenging him as he went on to beat Gregor Kobel with a low strike to silence the German team.

It was through two mistakes made by the two of the most reliable Sundowns players, goalkeeper Ronwen Williams and midfielder Teboho Mokoena that Dortmund found themselves in the lead after 34 minutes. 

First Williams, ever reliable in building Sundowns attacks from the back, gifted a pass to Felix Nmecha and the German attacker slotted the equaliser with ease just five after Ribeiro had given Sundowns the lead.

Mokoena was a bit unlucky to be dispossessed near the centre line, resulting in a cross from the right which was headed in by striker Serhou Guirassy to give Niko Kovac's team a chance to lead for the first time the 34th minute.

After that goal, Sundowns came under pressure from Dortmund as they pressed them in their own half and forced them to make more mistakes before Jobe Bellingham, brother of Real Madrid superstar Jude, slotted the third goal on the stroke of half-time after Williams failed to handle a fierce shot taken outside the area.

Sundowns had the upper hand in the game, with former Dortmund player Tashreq Matthews giving the SA champions a lot of attacking options with his speed on the left flank. But lack of awareness and sharpness let down Sundowns as they gave away possession in dangerous areas in all the goals that they conceded before the break. 

Sundowns started brightly in the second half pinning Dortmund in their own half as they looked to reduce the deficit. Mokoena was unlucky to see his free kick deflected over the bar by Dortmund's wall less than ten minutes after the restart. But just as Sundowns thought they were back in control, Dortmund got one break that ended with Sundowns right back Khuliso Mudau deflecting Daniel Svensson's cross into his own net to stretch the German team's lead to 4-1.

Sundowns revived their hopes of catching Dortmund when they immediately reduced the score to 4-2 after Iqraam Rayners scored his second goal in the tournament by heading in Mokoena's well taken free kick just outside the area.

Downs pushed Dortmund all the way and were further rewarded for their efforts when substitute Lebo Mothiba made it 4-3 on the stroke of full time as they forced Dortmund to make mistakes at the back. 

Sundowns cannot afford to hang their heads in shame after this defeat as they showed the world what they are capable of. The match against Fluminense will, however, stretch them at a time when they cannot afford to make the kind of mistakes they made against Dortmund.

Of the four African sides at the tournament, only Sundowns won their opening match after beating Ulsan with Rayners' sole goal on Wednesday.

Africa's club of the century Al Ahly, now coached by former Orlando Pirates mentor Jose Riveiro, are unlikely to progress to the next round after their 2-0 loss to Brazilian side Palmeiras on Friday. Ahly must beat Portuguese club Porto on Tuesday and hope other results favour them to progress to the last 16.

Esperance of Tunisia revived their hopes of making the second round after beating LA FC  1-0 on Friday. After going 2-0 down against Flamengo of Brazil in their opening match, Esperance now have to beat Premier League side Chelsea on Wednesday to boost their slim chances of progressing to the last 16. 

There's little hope of Morocco's Wydad Athletic of making it to the second round after their 2-0 loss to Manchester City in their opener on Thursday. Wydad, who boast two South African attackers Thembinkosi Lorch and Cassius Mailula, must beat Juventus at 6pm today and Al Ain on Thursday to qualify for the last 16.