Sundowns beat Ulsan to top Dortmund's group at the Club World Club | OneFootball

Sundowns enjoyed a dream debut at the Club World Club on Tuesday evening, edging past South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai with a 1–0 victory, courtesy of a decisive goal from Iqraam Rayners.

The win sees the South African champions claim all three points and move to the top of Group F, taking advantage of the earlier draw between Fluminense and Borussia Dortmund. In the next match, Sundowns will face the German side, while Ulsan look to bounce back against the Brazilians.

The match, played in Orlando, was largely dominated by Sundowns, who took an assertive approach from the off. Their high pressing and attacking intent kept Ulsan penned back, with the Korean outfit restricted to sporadic counter-attacks that failed to trouble the defence.

Sundowns’ early efforts appeared to pay off in the 28th minute, when Rayners flicked in a near-post header from a right-sided corner. However, the goal was chalked off after VAR detected a handball in the build-up.

Undeterred, Sundowns struck shortly after. Lucas Ribeiro picked up the ball in midfield, lifted his head, and threaded a perfectly timed through ball to Rayners, who broke into the box and coolly slotted home past the keeper. This time, it stood: 1–0 to the South Africans.

There was nearly a second before the break, again through the link-up between Ribeiro and Rayners. The ball ended up in the back of the net, but VAR intervened once more - this time for offside.

After the restart, Sundowns continued to control proceedings and came close to doubling their lead through the lively Ribeiro, whose creativity caused constant problems for Ulsan. Despite the pressure, the scoreline remained unchanged.

As the match wore on, Sundowns began to manage their lead, slowing the tempo while Ulsan continued to struggle with cohesion in the final third.

The Koreans mounted a late push in the closing stages. In the 80th minute, Lacava broke into the area and unleashed a powerful effort, but Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams produced a stunning save. Erick Farias latched onto the rebound, only for the South African defence to clear the danger.

It wasn’t to be for Ulsan, as Sundowns held firm to secure a memorable win and a strong start to their tournament campaign.