Orlando (United States) (AFP) – Mamelodi Sundowns got off to a winning start at the Club World Cup with a 1-0 victory over South Korean side Ulsan HD on Tuesday in a match delayed by a weather warning and played before largely empty stands. The South African side went top of Group F in front of a crowd given as 3,412 after Borussia Dortmund and Fluminense drew 0-0 earlier.
A weather warning pushed back kick-off by just over an hour for one of the less enticing group clashes in the expanded FIFA tournament, which has so far not succeeded in filling grounds for every match. However, those who were in attendance were party to an engaging battle. Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso’s Mamelodi have won the South African top flight for eight consecutive seasons but finished as runners-up in the CAF Champions League final earlier in June. They claimed victory through Iqraam Rayners’ first-half goal.
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“I think the first half was very beautiful, a lot of control…we didn’t get the second goal and the pressure comes,” said Cardoso. “But I think my players made a wonderful job, we are very proud, (it was) the first victory of an African team in the tournament.” Cardoso handed Themba Zwane his first start since September after injury, against Ulsan, who qualified through AFC confederation rankings.
Nicknamed “The Brazilians” because of their bright yellow shirts, akin to those of the five-time World Cup winners, Sundowns players showed some flair on the ball in the opening stages. However, it was Ulsan who should have taken the lead, when their Brazilian striker Erick Farias fired a fine chance just over the angle of post and bar. Mamelodi thought they had taken the lead after the half-hour mark when Rayners bundled home from a corner, but the ball went in off his arm and it was disallowed. However, the South Africa international was not to be denied and he stroked his team in front after Lucas Ribeiro set him up.
Rayners had another goal disallowed for offside before the break as he picked away at the Ulsan defence. Teboho Mokoena almost doubled Mamelodi’s lead with a dipping free-kick but Jo Hyeon-woo tipped his effort to safety. The South Koreans made inroads in the second half and forced Mamelodi back into their own territory in search of an equaliser. Tashreeq Matthews broke loose on the counter for Mamelodi and drilled a good opportunity over the bar, but his team were still able to become the first African side to win a game at the tournament. It was also their first victory in any version of the Club World Cup, after they lost both their matches in their only prior appearance in 2016.
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