Borussia Dortmund shook off a slow start to defeat Mamelodi Sundowns and earn their first win of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.

Borussia Dortmund overcame an early stumble to defeat Mamelodi Sundowns FC and collect their first victory in Group F of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.

Sundowns were in dreamland early on, with Lucas Ribeiro stunning the German giants. The No10 received a ball at midfield, evaded a defender and charged past another before slotting home past Gregor Kobel.

Group F matches

Dortmund were reeling, but a mistake from Sundowns shot-stopper Ronwen Williams gifted an open look for Felix Nmecha, who calmly equalised.

The goal settled the European side, and Serhou Guirassy gave them the lead when he polished off a slick one-two combination with Julian Brandt by thumping in a header.

Jobe Bellingham, making his first start with Dortmund, added another right before the break, gathering a rebound and firing in.

Sundowns were brimming with belief and cut the gap to one on Lebo Mothiba's fine finish, but Dortmund would hang to secure full points.

"I was expecting more, to be honest. We gave the ball away too easily and played too slowly. On the positive side, we scored four goals. We're satisfied with the result given the difficult conditions. As a top team, you have to aim to score plenty of goals, but you also can’t afford to concede so many. That annoys me, but I try to stay pragmatic."

Niko Kovac, Borussia Dortmund coach

"This was a hell of an experience for the players. We grew a lot from this match. We can compete. We showed that we are on the pitch and we are not afraid. We were brave enough and took them to the limit. Today we got a lot of respect from the world. I already heard that Dortmund will remember this match for a long time and that is absolutely beautiful for me."

Miguel Cardoso, Mamelodi Sundowns coach

"I don’t think there’s much positive to take away apart from the result. At the same time, I don’t want to be too negative either. The fact is: we simply can’t afford to concede three goals. And certainly not the way we conceded them today. On the positive side, we scored four goals – and the way we scored them was good too. We won, and that’s what matters at a tournament."

Gregor Kobel, Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper

"Against Fluminense, we need to do well. We have to give it our everything if we want to go through to the next stage. I feel like we will go home, back to the hotel, recover, rest, and then we take it from there. But I feel like, as a team, we want to win, we want to look for something positive out of the match."

Keanu Cupido, Mamelodi Sundowns defender

(FIFA.COM)