Top Position, But Feeling of the Brink for Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund completed the group stage of the 2025 Club World Cup as the champions of Group F. They are at the top, but it also feels like they are on the edge of a cliff due to the more challenging scenarios awaiting them in the knockout phase.

Dortmund became the champion of Group H after winning 1-0 against South Korean representative, Ulsan HD, at TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, United States, on Thursday (26/6/2025) early morning WIB. The solitary goal by Daniel Svensson in the 36th minute secured Dortmund's top position with a total of seven points.

The victory over Ulsan HD is the second positive result achieved by Dortmund. Previously, Niko Kovac's team played to a goalless draw against Fluminense and won 4-3 against Mamelodi Sundowns.

"We want to advance from the group stage to the round of 16. We have achieved that. We finished first and we are happy about it," said Kovac to FIFA.

Against Ulsan HD, Dortmund dominated the entire match. However, the opposing goalkeeper, Hyeon-Woo, performed brilliantly by making many saves.

He is the figure who played a role behind the Ulsan HD goal, which only shook once despite receiving 11 accurate shots out of a total of 28 attempts.

Elsewhere in Group F, Fluminense fought back to salvage a draw against Mamelodi Sundowns. A point from the match was enough to see Thiago Silva and his teammates through to the knockout stages alongside Dortmund as runners-up with five points in the final standings.

We have enough time to prepare ourselves for the opponent. - Niko Kovac -

In the knockout phase, a challenging situation awaits Dortmund. The draw for the 2025 Club World Cup has created a scenario similar to that of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. One sector gathers most of the "heavyweight" teams, while the other presents a much more favorable scenario for navigating the knockout stage.

After waiting for their opponents, Dortmund finally learned that they would be facing Monterrey, the runners-up of Group E. "Die Borussen", as Borussia Dortmund are nicknamed, had previously known that they would be facing a rival from Group E.

Group E is one of the most fiercely contested groups as the tickets to the knockout stage are being fought over by Monterrey, River Plate, and Inter Milan, up until the final match.

Unlike Inter and River, who are both strong and will face each other, Monterrey is indeed up against a relatively easier opponent, namely Urawa Reds. The team representing Asia has no stakes in the final match as they have already been eliminated after losing twice to Inter and River.

However, Monterrey understands that a victory alone is not enough for them. They also need to win by a large margin against Urawa to anticipate a draw between Inter and River, so that all three teams ultimately collect five points.

Monterrey truly won with a significant score. After previously drawing 1-1 and playing a goalless draw with River Plate, Monterrey "went on a rampage" in the match, which was also their last opportunity to secure a place in the round of 16, with a victory of 4-0.

This match marks Monterrey's first victory in the 2025 Club World Cup. Thanks to this win, the Mexican club secured the second position in Group E standings with a total of 5 points. At the same time, River Plate suffered a 0-2 defeat, which means this Argentine team must pack their bags.

However, that is not the only "bad news" for Dortmund. They also risk falling into the "depths" of the draw. If they advance to the quarter-finals, they will face the winner of the match between the first-placed team of Group H and the second-placed team of Group G, which could potentially be Real Madrid and Manchester City (or Juventus).

In the same draw, other matches include Paris Saint-Germain versus Inter Miami and Bayern Munich versus Flamengo. Therefore, in the quarter-finals, there could potentially be a match between PSG and Bayern if there are no surprises.

The matches that have been confirmed on the other side of the draw are Palmeiras versus Botafogo and Benfica versus Chelsea. The winners of both matches will face each other in the quarter-finals.

"Of course, we have already considered the possibility of the next opponent. We have even looked at it beforehand. It's not that we are unprepared. Now, because we finished first, we will not play until July 1. So, we have enough time to prepare ourselves to face the opponent," said Kovac.

Midfielder of Dortmund, Julian Brandt, stated that his team did not perform well in all matches. However, the most important thing, according to Brandt, is that Dortmund was able to secure seven points and finish at the top of the group.

On the other hand, a less than optimal performance provides room for improvement in the upcoming matches. Brandt evaluated that the team needs to play sharper in order to score more goals. They have only collected a total of five goals.

"We really need to learn how to score more goals. We need to handle that role better. I think we could play better with the chances we have and perhaps be a bit sharper. That way, I believe the results would be more convincing," said Brandt.