Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Ulsan HD | Group F
Borussia Dortmund goal: Daniel Svensson (36)
Borussia Dortmund topped their FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ group with a narrow win over already-out Ulsan HD in Cincinnati. They will face the runner up from Group E in Atlanta on 1 July.
The Bundesliga giants netted a first-half winner through Daniel Svensson, but were repeatedly denied adding to their lead thanks to a string of superb saves from Ulsan keeper Jo Hyeonwoo.
Dortmund controlled the match right from the start and their Norwegian star Julian Ryerson crashed a shot into the side-netting before Serhou Guirassy forced a decent save from Jo – the first of many.
Then the striker linked up for a one-two with Jobe Bellingham before trundling a timid shot at the keeper. But the Korea Republic international produced a brilliant save in the 26th minute to thwart Guirassy for a third time.
Bellingham then came close twice within a minute on the half-hour mark as the one-way traffic continued, and the talented Englishman provided an assist when he took advantage of sloppy Ulsan play in their own box to tee up Svensson to lash home in the 36th minute.
Ulsan keeper Jo was preventing further additions to the scoreline, and made a brilliant reaction save from Pascal Groß with his feet before making his fourth stop of the first half from Guirassy.
Ulsan markedly improved after the break and began to show some real attacking intent with Lee Jinhyun forcing a fine stop from goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
It was far more of an even contest as the second half progressed, although Ramy Bensebaini came close for the Germans with a header from a free-kick that he just couldn’t keep down.
Jo continued his heroics late on when he turned a volley from Yan Couto wide and Dortmund had to wait until confirmation of the goalless draw in the other game between Mamelodi Sundowns FC and Fluminense FC in Miami to celebrate winning the group.
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“We wanted to get through the group stage, we wanted to reach the Round of 16. We’ve achieved that. We’ve finished first and we’re happy about it. The first half was solid. In the second half, you could see the boys were managing the game a bit. Both we and Fluminense deserved to go through.
“It’s not easy, because of course every single player wants to play. We also want to give everyone minutes. But we can’t let all players play 90 minutes every time – that’s just not possible. So we really try to involve everyone.
“Of course, we’re already looking at the possible next opponent. We were looking even before. It’s not like we’re unprepared. Now, because we finished first, we don’t play until July 1, so we have enough time to prepare for the opponent.”
Niko Kovac, Borussia Dortmund coach
“Overall, it was a good performance. Especially in the first half where we dominated. It was a deserved win. For our goal, I just took a run into the box, Jobe Bellingham played me in and then I just tried to finish as fast as possible. It was a very nice feeling to score.
“We have plenty of confidence. We have been performing better and better. We started off a little bit slow, but I think today it was an overall good performance, so we are confident going into the next round.”
Daniel Svensson, Borussia Dortmund goalscorer
“I look at the bigger picture: we picked up seven points and finished top of the group. That’s the most important thing right now. We didn’t exactly play lights-out football in all three games, but that’s okay. I think there’s still a lot of room for improvement, and that’s a good thing – because hopefully we’ve still got a few games ahead of us.
“The result was a bit underwhelming. We really need to learn how to score more goals. Unfortunately, we were a bit too careless in front of goal today. We need to handle that role a bit better.
I think we could’ve done better with the chances we had and maybe been a bit more clinical. Then I think it would’ve worked out more convincingly.”
Julian Brandt, Borussia Dortmund midfielder:
Michelob Ultra Superior Player of the Match
Daniel Svensson (Borussia Dortmund)
