Mamelodi Sundowns, Africa’s last remaining hope at the revamped 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, have been eliminated from the competition.
The South African champions went into their final Group F match against Fluminense on Wednesday needing an outright win to progress to the knockout stages. However, they were held to a goalless draw, ending their campaign at the tournament.
Their exit follows the earlier group-stage eliminations of Egypt’s Al Ahly, Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca, and Tunisia’s Espérance de Tunis, meaning all four African representatives are now out of the competition.
Despite the early exit, Sundowns return home with their heads held high, having suffered just one defeat—a thrilling 4-3 loss to Borussia Dortmund—after opening their campaign with a 1-0 win over Ulsan HD. Head coach Miguel Cardoso expressed pride in his team’s performance.
“We played beautiful but come out with nothing, because the other teams are strong,” Cardoso said after the match.
“We go from here with four points, the previous Club World Cup was two defeats, now it’s one win, one draw, one defeat. Can we do more? It’s always possible to do more, but we can sleep in peace tonight. We are proud of the players, the staff, everyone. Recognition achieved—in ten years, we will understand what we did today.
“Let’s hope in ten years we look back and say we were weaker that time, we are much better. We have to be better, we have to grow. Our standards will increase. I will oblige to improve as long as I am in this club.”
Meanwhile, the tournament continues today, with Juventus taking on Manchester City—both teams having already secured qualification. In another fixture, Wydad Casablanca will face Al-Ain in a dead rubber.
Confirmed round of 16 matchups include:
- Inter Milan vs Fluminense
- Benfica vs Chelsea
- PSG vs Inter Miami
- Flamengo vs Bayern Munich
- Borussia Dortmund vs Monterrey
- Palmeiras vs Botafogo RJ
READ MORE: Why North African Clubs Struggled at FIFA Club World Cup
