FIFA Club World Cup
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Borussia Dortmund have confirmed their place in the Club World Cup knockout stage after beating Ulsan HD 1-0 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance was in attendance as Daniel Svensson scored the only goal of the game in the 36th minute. It could — and probably should — have been a much bigger win for the Bundesliga giants but it was enough for them to confirm top spot in Group F.
The other group game between Fluminense and Mamelodi Sundowns ended in a goalless draw with the Brazilian side going through in second.
GO FURTHER
JD Vance, judging Jobe Bellingham and Fluminense get defensive – how Club World Cup group F ended
We are nearly two weeks into the 2025 Club World Cup and the group-stage action concludes tomorrow.
First, Group G will be decided at 3pm ET with the top two battling it out for top spot:
Then Real Madrid will be looking to hang onto first place in Group H in their all-European clash at 9pm ET:
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Two more matches to come today — they both kick off at 9pm ET and will decide Group E.
River Plate are the group leaders heading into this evening but they face the beaten UEFA Champions League finalists Inter in Seattle. A win for either of those teams would take them through, as would a point as long as Monterrey don't beat Urawa Red Diamonds by more than one goal.
A big win for Monterrey would take them through.
The last-16 line-up at the Club World Cup is really starting to take shape now — here is what we have got so far:
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
The teams competing for the top two places in Group E are Inter, River Plate and Monterrey — all three are in action later tonight.
Dortmund through — and as winners of their group, meaning that they will go to Atlanta to face River Plate, Inter Milan or Monterrey in the Round of 16 on July 1st.
The good news? An indoor, climate controlled stadium where they can hide from the pounding sun.
Not a bad draw — Dortmund will fancy themselves against all three of those teams. Monterrey do not seem in the best of form, River Plate have not brought a vintage side to the tournament, and Inter still seem traumatised by the Champions League Final.
Fluminense’s match with Mamelodi Sundowns has ended in a goalless draw.
So that means Dortmund have won Group F, with the Brazilian side progressing as runners-up.
Dortmund will next face the runners-up of Group E, which could be either River Plate, Inter Milan or Monterrey.
Fluminense will face whichever side wins that group.
Daniel Svensson is named the ‘superior player of the match’.
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Dortmund beat Ulsan 1-0 at the 2025 Club World Cup. They should have scored a lot more.
As it stands they will progress to the knockout stage as group winners. But a late Fluminense goal would change that…
90+2’ Dortmund 1-0 Ulsan
And that was almost that.
Chukwuemeka’s shot was deflected over Jo’s post, with Dortmund winning a late corner. Svensson whipped the ball in but Anton headed over from point-blank range.
90’ Dortmund 1-0 Ulsan
There will be 4 minutes added on.
Ulsan are now playing in a 4-3-3 but they just cannot get their foot on the ball. Dortmund are doing a fine job of seeing this one out.
Giovanni Reyna has come on as a substitute to make what will be one of his last appearances for Dortmund.
Reyna will be leaving the club this summer, having fallen far down the pecking order, with his contract now just a year away from expiring.
There’s still a player there.
Reyna is only 22, even if it seems as if we've been talking about him for a decade now. But if he can find a club where he is more central to the attack and where he feels more important, perhaps some confidence can grow and his career can get back on track.
Where will that be? Not Germany; there are no real options for him to stay. For now, the smart money would be on a less physical league, perhaps Spain or Portugal, which placed more emphasis on his technique, his movement and his finishing.
86’ Dortmund 1-0 Ulsan
One final roll of the dice for Ulsan head coach Kim Pan-gon. Forward Heo Yool comes on for the defender Trojak.
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83’ Dortmund 1-0 Ulsan
Another superb stop from Jo Hyeon-woo! He’s undoubtedly the man of the match.
This time it’s Yan Couto with the effort, from inside Ulsan’s penalty area. He rather drags his low shot but, irrespective of that, it’s another fine stop from Jo, who leaps to his left and claws the ball around his post.
82’ Dortmund 1-0 Ulsan
Ulsan are now playing two up top but they’re struggling to win the ball.
Dortmund have looked very comfortable in possession since those subs and they haven’t been afraid to go all the way back to Kobel to kill a few more seconds.
79’ Dortmund 1-0 Ulsan
We look to be well set up for an exciting finish here, with Ulsan now committing more men forward but Dortmund posing such a threat on the break from the likes of Duranville.
Both sides turn to their benches: Ulsan bring on Lee Chung-Yong and Lee Hui-Gyun for Bojanic and Erick Farias. Dortmund introduce Reyna and Chukwuemeka for Gross and Guirassy.
It’s still goalless in the game between Mamelodi Sundowns and Fluminense.
That means that Dortmund are progressing as group winners as it stands, with Fluminense in second.
How to explain Julien Duranville and his relationship with the Dortmund fans?
He's been their great hope for some time, since arriving from Anderlecht in 2023, and the fanbase has plenty of Duranville truthers, who believe that he is only a few games away from catching fire and becoming an era-defining player. They might be right; Duranville is really, really talented and on form he is an exhilaratingly dynamic winger.
For now, he's a bit of tease. The defensive side of his game is not there yet, and he can seem too lightweight for the Bundesliga at times and too easy to barge off the ball.
That's the other side of the argument about him — is he worth the minutes on the pitch, when he often flatters to deceive.
He's still only 19, so placing him at the centre of that kind of culture war is silly. Still, that's where they are on that issue in the Ruhr Valley.
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67’ Dortmund 1-0 Ulsan
Dortmund fans are very excited by the potential of 19-year-old Belgian forward Julien Duranville and it’s not hard to see why.
The teenager picks up the ball and heads straight for goal, sprinting past a couple of Ulsan defenders and slamming a shot into the side netting.
The officials ruled that his effort took a nick off one of the Ulsan players, which I didn’t see. It doesn’t matter — the corner comes to nothing.
64’ Dortmund 1-0 Ulsan
Lee Jin-hyun is another Ulsan player to really grow into this game.
He pounces on the ball around 30 yards out before drifting forward and trying his luck with a fierce shot towards goal.
It’s another routine save for Kobel, but this is better from the South Korean side…
There have been some admiring noises about Jobe Bellingham's performances in the local Dortmund media over the last week. They like what they have seen so far and while recognising that this team is yet to face a true examination in the US, have bee encouraged by his start.
This was another good performance. A nice ball for the goal, of course, but steady and sensible in possession when he needed to be, in a way that will have impressed Kovac.