Exclusive: Mamelodi Sundowns Earn Global Respect – Now Must Up the Tempo vs Fluminense, says Former Defender

Former Mamelodi Sundowns defender Thokozani Mnguni lauds the side for putting the country on the map in the FIFA Club World Cup thus far and advises the side to up the pace against Fluminense to progress to the next stage of the tournament. 

Putting South Africa on the Map

Mamelodi Sundowns might have lost to Borussia Dortmund in the FIFA Club World Cup, but they left the pitch having earned the respect of football fans around the world.

Finishing the match with a 4-3 scoreline against one of the best teams in the world certainly got the whole world to sit up and notice the South African outfit.

The Pretoria-based side opened the scoring courtesy of a Lucas Ribeiro goal and went on to concede four rather soft goals and eventually came back and scored two goals in the second half, pushing Dortmund to defend in the last stages of the contest.

In an exclusive interview with SportsBoom.co.za, former Mamelodi Sundowns defender Thokozani Mnguni lauded the side for their effort against the German giants.

"It was a moral boost for them, especially when they took a lead with the first goal from Ribeiro," Mnguni told SportsBoom.co.za.

"I think Sundowns, for a team that is actually the first team to represent South Africa in the FIFA Club World Cup, maybe the world will start noticing the talent that we have in the country."

"Before Sundowns' dominance in Africa and now their recent performances in the Club World Cup, the world didn't take us seriously in terms of talent production. They only picked up players from Northern Africa and Western Africa, while South African players were largely overlooked."

"So with the level of competitiveness Sundowns have shown thus far and their style of play, I think they will now start taking us seriously as South African football and won't undermine us as they usually did before. It's a good thing for our country, and we are very proud of Sundowns."

The Approach vs Fluminense

Sundowns are currently sitting third in Group F, with Brazilian team Fluminense FC sitting at the top of the standings, with Dortmund sitting in second place.

This makes Sundowns' next fixture a must-win game if they are to progress to the next stage.

Mnguni believes that they have changes to make in their style of play heading into the clash against Fluminense, particularly with regard to the intensity they play.

Mnguni reckons that if Sundowns play high-paced football on Wednesday, then they should be able to move past Fluminense.

"Characteristically, Sundowns build up from the back. With that in mind, there's that factor of risk and mistakes that come with that style of play. That was bound to happen at some point," said Mnguni.  

"Against Dortmund, they were punished for those mistakes because these European and South American teams have a high level of pressing and counter-pressing factor in their game. These teams are very physical."

"With regard to Mamelodi Sundowns and how they need to approach this game against Fluminense, they need to be a lot quicker in passing; that way, they will easily break away from this team.  At the same time, they are too slow. So, Sundowns only need to pass the ball much quicker. I think it will work for them against Italy."