Mamelodi Sundowns earned their first-ever victory at a FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) with a 1-0 win over Ulsan HD in Orlando, meaning the Tigers have now lost eight of their last nine matches against foreign opposition.
Ulsan came into the game hoping that having prior experience of the CWC would serve them well, having played in the tournament on two previous occasions in 2012 and 2020.
However, it was the Sundowns who started the game the better of the two sides and they thought they had taken the lead after 29 minutes, when Iqraam Rayners steered a corner in at the near post.
But the goal was ruled out following a VAR review after the forward was ruled to have gotten the final touch with his hand.
Rayners did give the South African side the lead just seven minutes later, racing onto a Lucas Ribeiro through ball, before finding the bottom-left corner with a delightful finish with the outside of his right foot.
Ulsan very nearly managed to equalise right on the brink of HT, though, as Seong-Beom Ko’s looping effort towards the top-right corner was headed off the line by Divine Lunga.
The start of the second half saw little goalmouth action with the best chance coming eight minutes after the break, when Ribeiro looked to curl an effort into the far top-left corner, but the Brazilian’s effort was thwarted by a brilliant block from an Ulsan defender.
As the second half went on, hope of an equaliser began to fade for the Tigers, as the Sundowns looked in total control of the game as it approached the final 10 minutes.
The Sundowns managed to withstand some late pressure from the Korean champions and were ultimately able to claim a valuable win that sees Miguel Cardoso’s men claim the top spot in Group F, following Dortmund and Fluminense’s 0-0 draw earlier today.
Meanwhile, Ulsan will now face an extremely tough task if they wish to advance from the group with them now rooted to fourth spot.
