Soccer-Mamelodi Sundowns hope for upset in key clash against Borussia Dortmund
CINCINNATI, OH, June 20 (Reuters) - South African club Mamelodi Sundowns are hoping a perfect storm on Saturday hands them a chance of success against heavily fancied Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund when the two meet at the Club World Cup.
Sundowns, who were runners-up in the African Champions League earlier this month, sit on top of Group F after beating South Korean side Ulsan HD 1-0 in their opening game but expect to be on the back foot for Saturday's clash at the TQL Stadium.
For coach Miguel Cardoso, however, an upset result is possible even if the odds are slim.
'Upsets can happen when the mental conviction of the team is strong and their emotional connection is so strong that magic can happen,' he told a press conference on Friday.
'And that's what I will try to create as an ambiance in the team; ambition, conviction, determination and the right emotion to play such a game and produce a good result.'
But Cardoso expects that his side, who enjoyed the lion's share of possession in a dominant performance in their opening game, will not see much of the ball.
'We're going to play against a team that is very aggressive. It's a team that scores 40% of their goals from counter pressings.'
It will be an unusual situation for Sundowns, who dominate their domestic competition with a possession-heavy approach and are also a strong force in African continental competition.
'We won't be used to not having the ball much and obviously that will require us to be resilient and keep organised, even when you are just waiting for the moment to get the ball again,' Cardoso added.
Sundowns are the only African side with a win at the tournament.
'We are very proud of that. What has happened now is that we have opened up a chance for ourselves and turned dreams into objectives," said Cardoso.
'But we know what we have ahead and it won't be easy.'
Sundowns' last group game will be against Brazilian side Fluminense next Wednesday. (Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
17 minutes ago
- The Hindu
IND vs ENG fifth Test: Shardul, Kamboj likely to be benched as India searches for ‘Perfect 11'
The long-winding five-match Test series in England has hit the home stretch but despite securing a memorable draw at Old Trafford, India continue to search for the "perfect" eleven, more specifically the right bowling combination, heading into the finale at The Oval in three days' time. India's preference to bat till number eight at the expense of a specialist bowler has been constantly questioned over the course of the series and more so after Shardul Thakur, playing in place of the injured Nitish Reddy, was used for only 11 overs at Old Trafford. But with India conceding more than 600 runs for the first time since 2014 at Old Trafford, the case for including an out and out wicket-taker like Kuldeep Yadav, who has been warming the bench for the past 40 days, is stronger than ever. After an underwhelming debut, Anshul Kamboj is likely to make way for a fit-again Akash Deep or Prasidh Krishna. Arshdeep Singh, who too has been a passenger like Kuldeep, has also recovered from a hand injury and would be dreaming of a Test debut in what has been a highly competitive and engaging series. Though head coach Gautam Gambhir declared all the fast bowlers fit in his usual combative tone following the draw on Sunday, there is no denying that the pace pack, especially Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, are part of the tiring bunch on either side of the dressing room. Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja, the architects of a famous draw, formed India's top six in the second innings due to Rishabh Pant's injury and showed remarkable grit to bat out more than two sessions to save the game, completing fine hundreds in the process. If that same template is followed at The Oval, Dhruv Jurel will come in to bat number seven and India can play four specialist bowlers by benching Shardul, who anyway has not been getting enough overs. The fourth bowler can be Kuldeep with the pitch expected to aid spinners or an extra fast bowler. By its own admission, the Indian team management has been consciously trying to fit Kuldeep into the playing eleven but the current template of batting till eight has prevented it from doing that. "So Kuldeep, we are trying to find a way for him, but it is just (that we need) more consistent runs from our top six, so that we can bring a guy like Kuldeep in," said India bowling coach Morne Morkel during the fourth Test. "It's finding when he comes in, how we can find balance and how we can get that batting line-up to be a little bit longer and stronger. We've seen in the past that we've lost wickets in clumps. "Kuldeep is world-class and he's bowling really well at the moment, so we're trying our best to find ways for him to get in," added the South African. Recently-retired Test great R. Ashwin can't understand India's obsession of batting till eight for a few extra runs when a strike bowler like Kuldeep can allow them to play with fewer runs. For him, picking Kuldeep in Manchester was a no brainer. Considering the selection calls thus far, it can be said that India have been pretty firm about having a cushion with the bat in the lower-order. That will need to change if Kuldeep has to come into the scheme of things. Bumrah has already played three Tests but with series on the line, he could turn up at The Oval and someone like Mohammed Siraj, the only Indian pacer to have featured in all the games, would be raising his hand up despite the heavy workload. "On these do not know whether you will lose the toss, you will win the toss. You do not know what sort of a start you are going to get. So when you pick a team, I think you will try and pick a balanced team," said India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak recently when asked about playing an extra bowler over an all-rounder. "You cannot go like 'because last game three guys got 100s, we can play a batter less'. "...sometimes we feel that six bowlers are not getting enough bowling. So when you have six options, anyway captain struggles to bowl all six equally. Picking an 11, you will always try and keep that balance of batting and bowling," he reasoned for India's existing selection approach.
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
Shardul, Kamboj likely to be benched as India search for Ideal XI
Manchester, Jul 28 (PTI) The long-winding five-match Test series in England has hit the home stretch but despite securing a memorable draw at Old Trafford, India continue to search for the 'perfect" eleven, more specifically the right bowling combination, heading into the finale at The Oval in three days' time. India's preference to bat till number eight at the expense of a specialist bowler has been constantly questioned over the course of the series and more so after Shardul Thakur, playing in place of the injured Nitish Reddy, was used for only 11 overs at Old Trafford. But with India conceding more than 600 runs for the first time since 2014 at Old Trafford, the case for including an out and out wicket-taker like Kuldeep Yadav, who has been warming the bench for the past 40 days, is stronger than ever. After an underwhelming debut, Anshul Kamboj is likely to make way for a fit-again Akash Deep or Prasidh Krishna. Arshdeep Singh, who too has been a passenger like Kuldeep, has also recovered from a hand injury and would be dreaming of a Test debut in what has been a highly competitive and engaging series. Though head coach Gautam Gambhir declared all the fast bowlers fit in his usual combative tone following the draw on Sunday, there is no denying that the pace pack, especially Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, are part of the tiring bunch on either side of the dressing room. Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja, the architects of a famous draw, formed India's top six in the second innings due to Rishabh Pant's injury and showed remarkable grit to bat out more than two sessions to save the game, completing fine hundreds in the process. If that same template is followed at The Oval, Dhruv Jurel will come in to bat number seven and India can play four specialist bowlers by benching Shardul, who anyway has not been getting enough overs. The fourth bowler can be Kuldeep with the pitch expected to aid spinners or an extra fast bowler. By its own admission, the Indian team management has been consciously trying to fit Kuldeep into the playing eleven but the current template of batting till eight has prevented it from doing that. 'So Kuldeep, we are trying to find a way for him, but it is just (that we need) more consistent runs from our top six, so that we can bring a guy like Kuldeep in," said India bowling coach Morne Morkel during the fourth Test. 'It's finding when he comes in, how we can find balance and how we can get that batting line-up to be a little bit longer and stronger. We've seen in the past that we've lost wickets in clumps. 'Kuldeep is world-class and he's bowling really well at the moment, so we're trying our best to find ways for him to get in," added the South African. Recently-retired Test great R Ashwin can't understand India's obsession of batting till eight for a few extra runs when a strike bowler like Kuldeep can allow them to play with fewer runs. For him, picking Kuldeep in Manchester was a no brainer. Considering the selection calls thus far, it can be said that India have been pretty firm about having a cushion with the bat in the lower-order. That will need to change if Kuldeep has to come into the scheme of things. Bumrah has already played three Tests but with series on the line, he could turn up at The Oval and someone like Mohammed Siraj, the only Indian pacer to have featured in all the games, would be raising his hand up despite the heavy workload. 'On these wickets…You do not know whether you will lose the toss, you will win the toss. You do not know what sort of a start you are going to get. So when you pick a team, I think you will try and pick a balanced team," said India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak recently when asked about playing an extra bowler over an all-rounder. 'You cannot go like 'because last game three guys got 100s, we can play a batter less'. '…sometimes we feel that six bowlers are not getting enough bowling. So when you have six options, anyway captain struggles to bowl all six equally. Picking an 11, you will always try and keep that balance of batting and bowling," he reasoned for India's existing selection approach. PTI BS PM PM PM (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: July 28, 2025, 14:30 IST News agency-feeds Shardul, Kamboj likely to be benched as India search for Ideal XI Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hindustan Times
6 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Ben Stokes ridicules ‘injury replacement' debate, Gautam Gambhir hits back: 'Imagine if we had to play with 10 people'
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir and England captain Ben Stokes appear to be at opposite ends of the spectrum regarding the idea of allowing injury replacements in Test cricket. The topic became a hot topic after Rishabh Pant fractured his foot while batting on Day 1 of the Manchester Test and was in no position to keep the wickets. Dhruv Jurel was allowed to keep the wickets as cover for Pant, but the injured star had to come out to bat in pain as no substitution was allowed for injured players. Ben Stokes, Gautam Gambhir differ on injury replacement player debate.(Reuters and PRI Image) Stokes bluntly ridiculed the idea of injury replacement and suggested that if it came into effect, then the team would start exploring loopholes in it for their benefit. 'I think it is absolutely ridiculous there is a conversation around an injury replacement. There would be too many loopholes for a team to go through. You pick an 11 for the game, injuries are part of it. I think that conversation should be shut down,' said Stokes in the post-match press conference. 'I'm all for injury replacement': Gambhir On the other hand, Gambhir had a completely different take on this, suggesting there's no harm in permitting injury replacements—as long as the decision is made after a thorough evaluation by the umpires and match referee. 'Absolutely, I'm all for it, if the umpires and the match referee sees and feels that there's a major injury. It's very important to have this rule, where you can get a substitute. That is, if it's very visible, there's nothing wrong in doing that. Especially in a series like this, where it's been such a closely fought series, in the previous 3 Test matches," Gambhir said. 'Imagine if we would have had to play with 10 people, 10 men against 11. How unfortunate would this be for us," he added. A concussion substitute was introduced in the wake of Australian opener Phil Hughes' untimely death in 2014 after being hit on the head but there is no such provision in case of any other serious injury. Meanwhile, the differing perspectives of two prominent cricket personalities have sparked a renewed debate over the direction Test cricket should take—whether it must adapt to prioritise player safety or risk diluting the essence of the game's traditional format.
