Mamelodi Sundowns – Fluminense

The African team will not allow their opponents an easy victory

The centrepiece of Group F of the Club World Cup will be played without a European representative. Even though Borussia Dortmund have not shown themselves to be a dominant force here. The main match of the quartet will feature Mamelodi Sundowns, who have won the hearts of neutral fans from all over the world. The African squad has shown itself to be bold, skilful in controlling the ball and sharp in attack. Lack of class prevented Mamelodi from scoring maximum points in two rounds. The club from South Africa approaches the upcoming match with three points, occupying third place. Fluminense also showed good football at the tournament and did not lose once in the group. With four points, the Brazilian club is in the lead, ahead of Borussia Dortmund only due to a better goal difference. Mamelodi Sundowns need only a win to qualify for the play-offs, while Fluminense will be happy with a draw. It will definitely allow the Brazilians to reach the play-offs, and if Borussia do not win in their meeting, they will also keep the first place. Bookmakers have identified the nominal guests as favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 1.84 on their victory. Mamelodi Sundowns defeated Ulsan in the first round of the World Cup quite calmly. The victory was not easy, but became quite expected. The African club had enough one goal to gain three points. In the second round of the group stage, Mamelodi made talk of a possible sensation by scoring first against Borussia Dortmund. However, the German club scored four times in reply, allowing another portion of liberties to their opponents only towards the end of the game. Fluminense made peace with Borussia in the first round, showing at least as good as their opponents. The second match day also brought a goal-scoring extravaganza for the Brazilian club, who were 1-2 down to Ulsan after the first half. Having beaten the Korean side with goals in the end of the game, Fluminense were in a favourable position ahead of their final group stage encounter. However, the Brazilian team should not expect an easy victory here - Mamelodi has already demonstrated his decent level of play earlier.