Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso backed captain Ronwen Williams despite his horror mistake in Saturday’s Club World Cup clash against Borussia Dortmund in Cincinnati.
Williams’ errant pass allowed the Germans back into the group F clash after Sundowns had taken the lead in an impressive start to the game.
Sundown went on to trail 4-1 before pulling back two goals for a narrow loss in their second game at the 32-team tournament in the US.
This is what Cardoso said after the game...
Do you feel that was a missed opportunity? Do you feel that was a chance to do something a little bit more special than you did today?
“I feel that. I feel a double emotion. The first one is that obviously we are not happy, and not being happy is a wonderful sensation at this moment. It means that we competed in the highest level and we do not feel happy after playing Borussia Dortmund. That's some strange place to be, with big respect for Borussia. What I'm saying is that it was clear that today we pushed the level of the game to the maximum, to the highest level, and we had good play, an open game against such a strong opponent.
It's important that people understand who are Borussia Dortmund, so that after they really can highlight the quality of game that was played today by Sundowns. We’re not happy, of course. But despite the loss, we are proud. I'm very proud of them, of the way the players played. I'm very proud of the resilience they had throughout the game, so that we could finish the game playing for a result, because as you saw, in the closing stages in the heads of the players from Dortmund, they just wanted to finish the game. We wanted to continue to fight for the victory. But we also need to understand that when we play teams like this, they will penalise any mistakes.
They had two chances and scored two goals. That's why the level they play and the amount of money that is paid for players takes those players to another level. It was very hard at halftime because there was a mix of deception and disillusion. There was no relation between the score and what we had done on the pitch, but at the same time, I was concerned we could concede more goals if we did not keep the game in our hands. So the energy we had to put into the players at halftime, I think, was decisive.
Lucas Ribeiro doing what he does best 😏🤌
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) June 21, 2025
Watch the FIFA #CWC2025 live in various language options on SuperSport 🗣️🎙️
📺 Stream #FIFACWC on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc #SSFootball | @DAZNFootball pic.twitter.com/bpgdQv7uWC
We wanted to instill in the players the feeling they could come back into the game in the second half and that there was something to fight for. I know that South Africa asked for a long time that for ‘shoeshine and piano’, for beautiful football, for us to be loyal to our identity, and I feel today we showed that. In the highest competition. It's a message for South Africa that highlights the quality at Sundowns.
It was a hell of experience for these players. I think that from this match, we grew a lot, we need to obviously look forward for the rest of the competition, because also we understood that we can compete with these kinds of teams. That's the expectation that we will take to the next match. Remember, I spoke about what we wanted to do in the World Cup. I said, we want to compete. And compete is exactly what we did today. I think today, we got a lot of respect from the world that is watching this competition, a lot of respect. It means that we are on the right path. Absolutely on the right way."
What did you say at halftime when 3-1 down, which is not normal for Sundowns?
“Yeah, it's not normal. It's not normal to be losing. I think this season it happened to us once. That's why I had to highlight the quality. It was not easy in the locker room at halftime, seeing the heads looking down. But the danger when you are down is that these teams, they will not stop, because you know that also scoring goals is important in this competition. I used the beautiful example of the Springbok rugby team spirit that the team had to take back to the pitch. They had photos of their families on their shirts. We don't take the photos of our people on the shirts, but we take them in our hearts. We take them in our minds. And that's also what you need to ask for in these moments is that you make those people happy, you make the club happy, because you still fight.”
What did you say to Ronwen Williams after his mistake?
“Look, all season we play out of the back without mistakes. Today, we made two mistakes in the buildup. Do you think I can complain to my players when they give me so much, so much, so much, all because of one mistake? Football is a game of mistakes. I'm making mistakes. No, I support my players. Most of my talk was to support the players, and to say, ‘look, I'm sitting with you, so let's go’. It would be very easy to punish the players, but how can I penalise players whose only intention is to do well?
It's a gift for Felix Nmecha 🤯🎁
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) June 21, 2025
📺 Stream #FIFACWC on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc #SSFootball | @DAZNFootball pic.twitter.com/esSwBq214M
The levels of pressure in this game was so much higher and so mistakes can happen. No, I supported the boys. I supported the boys. There's no other way. In this club, with me, there's just support. Training and support and training and support and training. Otherwise, how can I build trust that if when there's a mistake, I don't give them trust. As much as you give, you get back. So that's how I approach the situation."
Do you think you can get a result against Fluminense?
“It's a very competitive team led by a very strong coach, coming from a continent where club football in the last 10 years has made a big jump, where the level of the game and the intensity has increased a lot in the last years. So I expect a very tough opponent, for sure. But again, I will appeal to us to be ourselves, to be aggressive, to enjoy, to have pleasure, because without those things, you cannot play our football. If we put ourselves on that level, we can compete.”