After the moderate appearance against Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund is now demanding against two outsiders at the club World Cup.
Coach Niko Kovac said that he could be “satisfied” with the first appearance of Borussia Dortmund at the club World Cup in the USA, While the goalless draw against Fluminense for Niklas Süle was “just far too little”. The defender thus addressed the performance of the Dortmund, not the points yield.
BVB must deliver against Mamelodi and Ulsan
With the draw against the Brazilians from Rio de Janeiro, BVB can actually be completely “satisfied” because the last two group opponents should be much easier to defeat. On Saturday kicks Dortmund in Cincinnati against Mamelodi Sundowns FC from South Africa, before it goes against the Ulsan HD South Koreans four days later.
“We Europeans think that football will only take place with us, but football is also played in South America,” said Kovac with a view of the somewhat bloodless appearance against visibly motivated South Americans. However, what is still going through with a continent that houses Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay after a legitimate reference to strong opponents will no longer work in the future games.
Now the next two games are about securing the first or second place.
BVB coach Niko Kovac
“We have to deliver in the next game,” sports director Sebastian Kehl consequently demands before the game on Saturday and, after various individual talks, is confident that his message has also reached the players. Kovac could reaffirm this message with personnel changes. It seems obvious, for example, that the newcomer Jobe Bellingham against Mamelodi is a starting eleven candidate for around 60 minutes.
The round of 16 is the minimum goal for Borussia Dortmund
The 19-year-old brother of former BVB professional Jude Bellingham was hired for the dynamic game in midfield, the Pascal Groß and Marcel Sabitzer was very difficult in the center against the Brazilians. “We have to come back to what made us strong: play faster, harder passes, just increase the pace a bit. It was all a bit slow,” criticized goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
But even if Jobe, like his brother Jude Bellingham, is an “outstanding footballer”, according to BVB defender Waldmar Anton, all BVB players will probably have to show a little more against the outsiders so as not to endanger the minimum goal “round of 16”. Ultimately, the club World Cup is not just about prestige. From the round of 16, many million euros can be won from round to round. Since the BVB is still working on the squad for the coming season and currently has a striker as a backup for striker Serhou Guirassy on his wish list in addition to a defender, every additional million scope for action is expanding.
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