Sebastian Kehl on Ulsan HD, the tournament format and the rivalry at the Club World Cup | OneFootball

Sebastian Kehl on the narrow victory against Mamelodi Sundowns: “It was close again at the end – we put ourselves in that situation. It was a bit unnecessary because we controlled the game very well after going 4-1 up. But the bottom line is that we picked up three important points and are now in a good position in the group with four points. We have every chance of progressing on Wednesday – I'm firmly convinced of that. That said, we have to improve a bit. One or two situations had nothing to do with the weather; we have to solve them better as a team and also individually. We must not make so many mistakes at the end. But we also did a lot of things well: we showed a good reaction and we scored goals from certain procedures which we've been training here.”

...the decision to leave the substitutes in the changing room for the first half: “In the run-up to the game, we thought about how we could save a bit of energy in the first half because we didn't have any shielding from the sun on the substitutes' bench. We came up with the idea of leaving some of the team in the dressing room so that the players would be in much cooler conditions and wouldn't get even more exhausted. They warmed up and they prepared themselves in the dressing room – I think it was a good move. A bit unusual perhaps – but playing at 12 o'clock in these conditions is not usual either. So I think it was a good move.”

...Jobe Bellingham's first goal for Borussia Dortmund: “Jobe has shown – not only with this goal but also with his performance – that he is settling in more and more. Of course, things are still new to him in some regards, but he's smart enough to take everything in his stride, to get involved and to want to implement the coach's ideas. It has therefore been a good start for him. He has rewarded himself with the goal – a nice story.”

...upcoming opponents Ulsan HD: “Ulsan are bottom of the table with zero points. They certainly want to bid farewell in the right way. They had their chances in the last game and also repeatedly caught the attention with counter-attacking opportunities. With that in mind, we have to be prepared for counter-attacks and counter-pressing. But we're going to work very hard on that again. We still have a bit of breathing space and are looking forward to this game. But we won't underestimate this opposition either, because it's another challenge, another unknown quantity. But we've dealt with that quite well now and hope to do the same on Wednesday.”

...the South American and the European teams at the Club World Cup: “For a long time, the South Americans didn't lose a single game in this competition and had a few advantages simply due to their match rhythm, their intensity and also the spectators. You can also see that there have been some other European clubs that have also had problems – whether it's PSG, Real Madrid or Inter Milan. I think the teams are just finding their feet in this tournament and so I'm curious to see how this form curve, this rivalry, which is being talked about a lot right now, will play out in the end.”

...the tournament format of the Club World Cup: “I think we've worked our way into it more and more. You of course watch the games. The TV is on all day because the games start at 12 o'clock and run until late in the evening. I think we're developing more and more of a feeling for the tournament. Of course, we're on the road a lot, it's just one match after another. I know this tournament format as a player; I don't know it in this role yet. But it's fun and I believe that the excitement, the tension and the atmospheres will increase throughout the tournament. You can see it in many of the games: it's already very lively. There are a lot of games that are really exciting. I believe that the sense of euphoria in this country will continue to grow.”