Mamelodi Sundowns veteran Themba Zwane says the opportunity to take on teams from outside Africa at the Club World Cup is an exciting prospect as the South African champions seek to test themselves.
“Obviously, we are excited as a team and we are excited that we are going to represent Africa as a whole.
"And, yeah, for us as a team, we are excited because of the experience that we are going to get,” Zwane said on arrival in the United States where Sundowns are one of four African teams representing the continent in the new-look 32-team tournament.
“It feels great; we just give hope to show other teams that are in Africa that it’s doable. Hopefully, next time, we’ll have more numbers that will come from the outside to represent Africa.
“The excitement will be amazing. They really love football and the stadiums will be fully packed. And it will be a nice thing for us as players to play on that stage.”
Sundowns start their campaign next Tuesday against Ulsan of South Korea in Orlando and then have a prestige match up with German giants Borussia Dortmund, who last season were runners-up in the Uefa Champions League.
“Obviously, firstly, we are going to watch them – but we have been watching them, and we know that they are a good team. We know that they have good players and we respect them, but we don’t fear them. And, yeah, we are going to go there and play our football – try to win the game and match them in terms of the quality and the pace of the game.”
𝐀𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 🌍
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) June 10, 2025
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Sundowns last game in their group is back in Florida, where they are based, against Brazil’s Fluminense.
“Yeah, it’s going to be an interesting one, you know. We know they are skilful; we know (that) they know football. They enjoy football: they are happy whenever they play football. So, it’s going to be an exciting game, when we meet them
“Our confidence is high and so far, so good – the team is doing well. We are preparing very well and I think we have enough depth, enough quality to compete in the tournament.”