Borussia Dortmund head coach, Niko Kovac has admitted that African giants, Mamelodi Sundowns will be a tough opponent when they clash in the second group F game of the ongoing 2025 FIFA Club World Cup on Saturday June 21.

The German giants come into the game with the hopes of turning their fortunes around after a goalless draw encounter against Brazilian outfit Fluminense in their opening group game whereas  Mamelodi Sundowns produced a commanding 1-0 victory over South Korean outfit, Ulsan Hyundai.

The Croatian trainer believes that Dortmund and Fluminense are the group favorites but the competence of Mamelodi Sundowns cannot be overlooked as they cannot be referred to as “pushovers.”

“As I said before, at the beginning of the press conference I think Fluminense and my team are for sure the favorites but in football you must play the games.

“I am sure that we are the favorites so for sure we are expecting now the next game we want to see the game against Sundowns and Ulsan, we want to watch it just to get more impression.

“We have some impressions and we know that Sundowns they played in the Champions League finals of Africa a weeks ago and it’s a tough opponent so you saw in the other games that they worked hard against other African teams, they are strong, they are powerful so for that we need to refresh our minds and be fully prepared because the next game is very important for us.”

South African powerhouses, Sundowns top Group F with three points after the opening day victory, as their upcoming opponents, Borussia Dortmund and Brazilian outfit, Fluminense have a point apiece and are seated on second and third places respectively. Ulsan Hyundai sit bottom of the group with no points.