1-0 against Ulsan: Svensson fires BVB into Club World Cup round of 16 | OneFootball

Borussia were solid and patient, shored up their defence against counter-attacks, registered 20 (!) shots in the first half and turned their clear superiority into a highly deserved opening goal, which was scored by Daniel Svensson, in the 36th minute. Ulsan could not get the enthusiastic Black & Yellows under control at all in this phase. Goalkeeper Hyeon-Woo Jo made spectacular saves to deny BVB further goals through Pascal Groß and Serhou Guirassy before the interval. The second period was not quite so dominant.

The scenario:   Borussia had kicked off the tournament with a victory (against Mamelodi) and a draw (against Fluminense), while Ulsan were yet to pick up a point following narrow defeats to both teams.

Personnel matters:  In addition to Schlotterbeck (rehab), Can and Özcan (fitness training), who did not travel to the USA, as well as Kabar (U19 EURO), Gittens missed out (cold). There were two changes to the starting line-up compared to the game against Mamelodi (4-3) four days earlier: Ryerson and Adeyemi replaced Süle and Brandt.

Tactics:Borussia countered the opposition's low block in a 3-4-2-1 formation with up to five players in the last line of attack when the wingers pushed forward in support of Guirassy & Co. Adeyemi was tasked with switching from his No. 10 position over to the wing and creating gaps out wide when in possession of the ball, while Svensson drifted inside. Ulsan lined up in a 5-3-2 system – though a sixth player would frequently drop back from midfield into the defensive line – and looked to play it long and push up quickly after regaining possession.

The match & analysis:The pitchside thermometer displayed a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius at kick-off. Borussia dominated the match and created their first chance after two minutes. Adeyemi passed to Svensson, who played it from the left flank into the six-yard box to Guirassy, who fired the ball narrowly wide of the left upright. But it was not until 13 minutes later that Ryerson registered the next serious attempt at goal, with the Black & Yellows initially struggling to find and exploit gaps in the Asian club's defensive rearguard. Guirassy tested the goalkeeper following a solo move (19). Adeyemi's attempt shortly afterwards was already the seventh shot after only 21 minutes of the match, but there had not yet been any major opportunities.

But shots 10 and 11 took it up a notch. Guirassy forced keeper Jo into a save (27), before Bellingham met Adeyemi's cross on the volley and fired narrowly over the frame of the goal (28). Shortly afterwards, he was stopped on the edge of the six-yard box at the last moment. The highly deserved opener came in the 36th minute: Couto won the ball back on the right flank and played it in towards Bellingham, whose square ball into the box was slotted home low by Svensson for 1-0. Shortly afterwards, Nmecha narrowly missed the target from close range.

Ulsan shot-stopper Hyeon-Woo Jo, who played at the 2018 World Cup, made a world-class save to stop it becoming 2-0 when he kept out a Groß shot from six metres in the 40th minute. The cross came from Adeyemi after Bensebaini had switched the play. It was a similar situation in first-half stoppage time, when he sensationally stopped Guirassy's header from five metres.

Kobel had to intervene for the first time in the 47th minute and seriously came under threat on the hour mark. At the start of the second half, his defenders no longer played with the same concentration and purpose as in the first half. The first chance fell to substitute Duranville, who fired a sturdy shot into the side-netting in the 67th minute. The Belgian had come off the bench together with Brandt and Beier (58). The duo of Chukwuemeka and Reyna came on for the final 15 minutes of a match that was now more open again. Ulsan were now holding their own and pressing higher in the second period.

After a good attack involving Duranville and Beier, the unmarked Couto shot from the edge of the box but the keeper was again on hand with a spectacular save and stopped it going to 2-0 (83). The narrow lead stayed intact through the four minutes of stoppage time.

Outlook:    The group's other game between Fluminense and Mamelodi Sundowns was not over by the end of BVB's match in Cincinnati.

Teams & goals

FIFA Club World Cup Matchday 3 Wednesday 25 June 2025, 15:00 local timeBORUSSIA DORTMUND 1-0 (1-0) ULSAN HD

Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Ryerson, Anton, Bensebaini – Yan Couto, Groß (Chukwuemeka, 78), Nmecha (Brandt, 58), Svensson – Bellingham (Beier, 58), Adeyemi (Duranville, 58) – Guirassy (Reyna, 78)Ulsan HD: H.-W. Jo – S.-W. Kang, Trojak (Heo, 86), Y.-G. Kim, Jae-Ik Lee, Ludwigson – M.-H. Kim (S.-B. Ko, 46), Bojanic (H.-G. Lee, 80), J.-H. Lee – Lacava (M.-S. Park, 46), Farias (C.-Y. Lee, 80)Substitutes: Meyer, Ostrzinski, Coulibaly, Mané, Süle, Azhil, Campbell, Sabitzer, Albert, Inacio – Moon, Ryu, S.-H. Choi, M.-W. Kang, Seo, Back, W.-Y. Jung, M.-W. Kim, J.-S. Yoon, Yago Cariello Goals: 1-0 Svensson (Bellingham, 36)  Corners: 6-1 (2-1 at half-time), chance ratio: 8-1 (6-0)Referee: Penso (USA), yellow cards: Bellingham, Nmecha – M.-H. Kim, S.-W. KangAttendance: around 10,000 in Cincinnati, weather: sunny, 37 degrees