Sundowns dominate in Club World Cup opener

by Staff Reporter

Wednesday Jun 18, 2025. 11:00

Mamelodi Sundowns gave a good account of themselves in their opening Group F, FIFA Club World Cup fixture after jotting down an impressive 1-0 win against Ulsan HD at the Inter & Co Stadium on Wednesday.

Downs commenced the game in familiar fashion, as they held most of the ball during the first quarter. As Ulsan sat deep, the likes of Teboho Mokoena and Themba Zwane kept the ball ticking in the middle of the park.

The Brazilians opened the scoring in the 36th minute as Iqraam Rayners continued his clinical showing in front of goal.

Following a slick passing move inside the Ulsan half, Lucas Ribeiro put Rayners through on goal with a telling through ball, which was expertly dispatched by the Downs forward.

Sundowns could have had their lead tripled in the first half owing to two disallowed efforts by Rayners, who kept the Ulsan backline on their toes throughout the first 45.

It was much of the same for the Tshwane club in the second-half as they saw up to 68% of the ball in midfield.

While Downs were unable to make the most of the rest of their chances, Ronwen Williams was called into action late on.

Adding to their defensive solidarity, Keanu Cupido made a last ditch sliding save in the latter stages of the match in ensuring Sundown kept a clean sheet at the end of the 90 minutes.

Sundowns will now take on German Bundesliga giants in matchday two in Group F, with their fixture set to commence at the TQL Stadium on 21 June.

Ulsan HD: (0) 0

Mamelodi Sundowns: (1) 1’ (Rayners 36’)

Ulsan HD: Cho, Um, Myung-Guan Seo (Sang-Woo 80’), Trojak, Y.Kim, Ludwigson, Ko, Jung (Jun Hyun 73’), Bojanic (Hui-Gyun Lee 73’), Lee (Lacava 64’), Farais

Mamelodi Sundowns: Williams, Lunga, Kekana, Cupido (Mvala 85’), Mudau, Allende, Mokoena, Zwane (Aubaas 77’), Sales (Matthews 65’), Rayners (Mothiba 77’), Costa (Adams 85’)