In parallel to its Club World Cup guide, Sports Talk United here presents the Group F of the competition, which will take place in the United States from June 14 to July 13, 2025.
Which teams are in Group F of the Club World Cup?
Borussia Dortmund are the big favourites for Group F, despite a somewhat turbulent season, spending most weeks outside of the top four (granting automatic qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League), which led to them to firing then-manager Nuri Sahin in January.
Under the new management of Niko Kovac, they managed to squeeze into 4th place on the last day of the season, and only lost one of their last 10 matches in all competitions (a run that included impressive victories against Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen). As a European giant, they also have a significant financial advantage over the rest of the group, with a reported weekly wage of €2.19million, more than four times greater than the next team (Fluminense’s is roughly €430,500 per week).
Fluminense, though one of Brazil’s oldest clubs, is not historically one of its most successful, with only four Serie A titles to its name. Since winning their last title in 2012, they’ve only finished in the top three once; this allowed them to compete in the Copa Libertadores in 2023, which they won for the first time. They come into the Club World Cup having won five of their last six matches in all competitions, advancing in the Copa da Brasil, and winning their Copa Libertadores group.
Mamelodi Sundowns enter the tournament after another dominant domestic campaign, winning their 8th South African Premiership title in a row (and an 18th in total). Despite their national supremacy, they’ve struggled to apply that to the CAF Champions League, with their only victory back in 2016. They did lose this year’s final 3-2 on aggregate to Pyramids, which was their first defeat in 10 games, so they’re a team very much in form.
This is something of a golden age for Ulsan HD (formerly Ulsan Hyundai), winning the last three KLeague titles, as well as their second AFC Champions League in 2022. They’ve lost momentum this season though, and finished a lowly 10th in their AFC Champions League group, missing out on the knockouts, and currently sit 3rd in the K-League. Their form has improved recently (won five, drew three, lost two, in all competitions), but they have it all to do if they want any chance of making the next round of the CWC.
How did each Group F team qualify for the Club World Cup?
Borussia Dortmund – Germany (UEFA)
UEFA were allocated 12 places for the CWC, with four going to the last four winners of the UEFA Champions League, and another eight going to the best-ranked teams in UEFA’s 4-year ranking (with a maximum of two clubs from a single nation). As Real Madrid won two titles, this extended to the nine best-ranked eligible teams. Borussia Dortmund were 3rd, partly due to them finishing as runnersup in the 2024 Champions League.
Fluminense – Brazil (CONMEBOL)
Qualified as the 2023 Copa Libertadores winners.
Mamelodi Sundowns – South Africa (CAF)
CAF were allocated four places at the Club World Cup for the winners of the previous 4 CAF Champions League titles. As three of those titles were won by Egypt’s Al Ahly, two slots went to the best-ranked eligible teams in CAF’s four year ranking, and Mamelodi Sundowns were ranked 2nd.
Ulsan HD – South Korea (AFC)
The AFC were given four places at the CWC, and Ulsan HD qualified as the only best-ranked eligible team according to the AFC’s four year ranking.
Group F match schedule: Key dates and fixtures
Fluminense and Borussia Dortmund will open Group D on June 17 in New Jersey. The group’s final matchday will be play eight days later, when the last two games in the group will be played at the same time on June 25.
- June 17: Fluminense vs Borussia Dortmund – MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford (12pm EDT,
5pm BST, 6pm CEST) - June 17: Ulsan HD vs Mamelodi Sundowns – Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando (6pm EDT, 11pm BST,
12am CEST) - June 21: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Borussia Dortmund – TQL Stadium, Cincinnati (12pm EDT,
5pm BST, 6pm CEST) - June 21: Fluminense vs Ulsan HD – Metlife Stadium, East Rutherford (6pm EDT, 11pm BST,
12am CEST) - June 25: Borussia Dortmund vs Ulsan HD – TQL Stadium, Cincinnati (3pm EDT, 8pm BST, 9pm
CEST) - June 25: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Fluminense – Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens (3pm EDT,
8pm BST, 9pm CEST)
Key players to watch in Group F
Serhou Guirassy — Borussia Dortmund
It’s not an exaggeration to say that if Guirassy plays well this tournament, Dortmund have a chance of going deep into the competition. Since signing from Stuttgart last summer, he has registered 43 goal involvements (34 goals, 9 assists), which is more than double any other Dortmund player.
Able to hold the ball up well, he can feed the terrifyingly quick wingers of Gittens and Adeyemi, as well as have the pace to run in behind the defence himself. Finished as the Bundesliga’s 2nd-top goalscorer behind Harry Kane, and scored an incredibly impressive hat-trick vs Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final, the 29-year old Guinean is a strong candidate to finish the Club World Cup with a golden boot.
German Cano — Fluminense
This is a slightly strange choice, as the 37-year old Argentinian striker might not actually feature at the tournament, as he’s been injured since the end of April. However, if he can recover (and getting match fit makes this an even bigger ‘if’), then Fluminense have a chance of reaching the knock-outs, because Cano = goals!
In just 20 matches this season, he’s found the net 14 times (by ‘minutes played’, he’s scored every 108 minutes), and has forged a particularly potent partnership with Columbian winger Jhon Arias. Without him in the side, Fluminense struggle for goals, but if manages to get on the pitch, he offers a clinical edge that a lot of teams don’t have.
Lucas Ribeiro — Mamelodi Sundowns
The 26-year old Brazilian forward is a difficult player to defend against, as he is equally adept at running in behind, and dropping into a no.10 role. As such, he operates more as a ‘second striker’, behind top scorer Iqraam Rayners. Between them, they have 64 goal involvements (Rayners 31, Ribeiro 33), and as strike partnerships have become rarer in football, teams may find themselves caught out trying to defend against them.
Kim Young-gwon — Ulsan HD
The 35-year old South Korean veteran may not be the most electrifying player to watch out for, but in tournament football, his experience could prove invaluable. He is South Korea’s 9th-most capped player (112 appearances), last making an international match day squad on September 10th 2024. As captain of the least-fancied team in the group, his calmness at the back, as well as his ability to pick a pass under pressure, could make all the difference.
What’s at stake in Group F?
Whoever reaches the knockouts will next face a team from Group E (Italian giants Inter, Argentina’s River Plate, Monterrey of Mexico, and Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds). The winner of Group F would face the runner-up of Group E, and the runner-up of Group F would face the Group E winners.
Winning Group F would also put the side in the bottom half of the draw, and would play their round of 16 tie in Atlanta, Georgia. Going through as runners-up would put the team in the top half of the draw, and would play their next match in Charlotte, North Carolina.
