From Florida to New Jersey: BVB kick off Club World Cup campaign | OneFootball

“I think it’s gigantic, probably like many, many stadiums here in America. I’m looking forward to it; it will certainly be a great experience. But you can tell it’s not solely a football stadium,” said Brandt. It’s not just the stadiums that are different in the USA; players also have to adjust to earlier kick-off times. Brandt mentioned that the last time he played in the morning was during his U19 days, and that was at 11:00 am. “It’s definitely a bit different now, but we’ll manage,” the midfielder said of the 12:00 pm kick-off against Fluminense, which requires a different kind of preparation: “You’re basically already eating a pre-match meal at 9:00 am, and I don’t usually eat pasta that early. It’s an adjustment, but this might happen one or two more times as the tournament progresses.”

When BVB kick off their Club World Cup campaign on Tuesday, the tournament will have already been under way since Saturday. At their base in Florida, the Borussia players have been watching the matches. “The TV is always on, and we’re watching the games,” said Pascal Groß. “It’s interesting to see how teams from different countries play. It’s been fun to watch so far.” The midfielder is excited to participate in the Club World Cup himself: “You get to play at amazing stadiums here. I’m very open to this tournament, and I’m really looking forward to getting started and playing competitive matches against teams from other continents.”

Their first match is against Brazilian outfit Fluminense on Tuesday. Of the opposition, Marcel Sabitzer said: “Brazilian teams, including their national team, always come to a World Cup to win. They’ll take this very, very seriously, just as we will. We will need to be ready from the first minute. They’re very experienced. I think we have an advantage with our dynamism and physicality. We’ll try to keep the tempo high, make them run and really be ready from the first minute.”

BVB’s objective is clear: “We want to win the group and show that we’re a force to be reckoned with,” said Sabitzer. “When you come to a tournament, you’re here to win. It's clear that it’s going to be tough and a long road. We need a strong start to build momentum, and then I hope we can go very far.” Ideally, Borussia will return to the MetLife Stadium for the final.

All the information about the Club World Cup (tickets, all matches live and free of charge on DAZN) can be found at bvb.de/cwc. The BVB app (click to download) will also keep all BVB fans up to date on events in the USA.