Fluminense holds a draw with Mamelodi Sundowns and goes to the round of 16
Tricolor awaits definition of Group E to know next opponent
Fluminense secured their place in the round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup after holding a goalless draw with Mamelodi Sundows (South Africa), on Wednesday afternoon (25) at Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami.
With this result, Tricolor das Laranjeiras ended the first phase of the competition with five points, in second place in Group F. The first position went to Borussia Dortmund (Germany), who beat Ulsan (South Korea) 1-0. Now the team led by coach Renato Gaúcho awaits the definition of Group E – formed by River Plate (Argentina), Inter Milan (Italy), Monterrey (Mexico) and Urawa Reds (Japan) – to find out their next opponent in the Club World Cup.
Hard-fought draw
Fluminense took to the field this Thursday knowing that even with a draw they would guarantee their place in the round of 16. With this advantage, coach Renato Gaúcho fielded a team with more physical strength, with the intention of not giving too much space to Mamelodi’s fast attack and trying to mount a counterattack.
With the ball rolling, the South African team had more control of the ball in the first half and tried to connect some passes to the fast striker Rayners. The Tricolor played at a low rotation and, only after a scolding from Renato Gaúcho during the hydration break, did they create something, in a cross shot by Arias, in the 35th minute, which ended up going wide.
In the final stage, the team from Laranjeiras came back more focused and, after just 12 minutes, came very close to opening the scoring when the Argentine Cano took advantage of a cross from Samuel Xavier to hit a volley that exploded off the crossbar of the goal defended by Williams.
Flu still came close to scoring with shots from Arias in the 27th minute and Facundo Bernal in the 28th, but the score remained unchanged. In the final minutes, Mamelodi still tried to press, but the team led by Renato Gaúcho showed maturity to hold on for the draw that guaranteed qualification.
