Ulsan HD vs Mamelodi Sundowns Preview: Team News & Prediction | 2025 FIFA Club World Cup | Group Stage

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Two teams who qualified for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup via the ranking path meet in Orlando as Ulsan HD take on Mamelodi Sundowns in Group F.

Kick-off date/time:

How to watch on TV & online: UK – DAZN / US – DAZN

Ulsan HD team news: Hopes on Farias

Marksman Erick Farias will lead the line for Ulsan HD having been their most potent attacker this season. The Brazilian has struck nine times in 15 games for the South Korean side.

Blessed with plenty of pace, Won-Sang Um should provide the spark on the wing with the 26-year-old highly regarded.

Predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Hyeon-Woo; Sang-Woo, Young-Gwon, Myung-Gwan, Ludwigson; Woo-Young; Won-Sang, Bojanic, Seung-Beom, Jae-Seok; Farias

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Mamelodi Sundowns team news: Suarez left out of squad

Lucas Suarez, a former standout star for Argentina at U20 level, was left out of the Sundowns’ FIFA Club World Cup squad after failing to make an impact since joining from CA Talleres.

The prolific Iqraam Rayners and Lucas Ribeiro will likely prove a handful for the Ulsan defence; the attacking pair have scored 42 goals between them this season.

Predicted XI (4-3-3): Williams; Mudau, Kekana, Lebusa, Modiba; Allende, Mokoena, Adams; Ribeiro, Rayners, Matthews

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Key stats

• Two-time Asian champions (2012, 2020), Ulsan won their third successive Korea Republic domestic title in 2024, becoming only the third club to achieve the feat.
• Ulsan claimed their place in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ via the AFC ranking pathway. In the four-year period from 2021 to 2024 they notably reached two AFC Champions League semi-finals, most recently the 2023-24 edition where a defeat in a penalty shoot-out against Yokohama F. Marinos denied them a place in the final.
• When Ulsan won the league title in 2024, their coach Kim Pan-gon completed the double of having won the competition with the club as a player and coach – he featured in their first championship success as a player in 1996.
• Ulsan’s goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo has been selected in the K League's Best XI in each of the last eight seasons and was named as the league’s MVP in 2024. He played all three matches for Korea Republic at the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ and was named Man of the Match after making six saves in their famous 2-0 victory against Germany in the group stage.
• Ulsan defender Kim Young-gwon started all of Korea Republic’s matches at the last three editions of the FIFA World Cup™, scoring at the 2018 finals against Germany and at the 2022 showpiece against Portugal, he made his 100th appearance for the national team against Brazil in the round of 16 at Qatar 2022.
• South African champions for an eighth successive season in 2024/25 – extending their record to 18 domestic league titles, Mamelodi Sundowns secured their place at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ via the CAF ranking pathway due to their performances in the CAF Champions League where they reached two quarter-finals and two semi-finals in the qualifying period (2020-24)
• The biggest achievement to date in the history of Mamelodi Sundowns came in 2016 when they won the CAF Champions League – becoming only the second South African team to claim the title after Orlando Pirates in 1995. In November 2023 they claimed another notable success in a confederation showpiece tournament when they were crowned the first-ever African Football League (AFL) champions after 3-2 aggregate victory against Wydad Casablanca.
• Mamelodi Sundowns came close to adding a second CAF Champions League title to their honours list when they reached the final of the 2024/25 competition, eventually losing out 3-2 on aggregate against Egyptian club Pyramids FC. In reaching the final the Sundowns won back-to-back ties against FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ competitors Espérance and Al Ahly in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.
• A key player for the Sundowns is Ronwen Williams, captain of the South Africa national side, he was voted Best Goalkeeper at the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations, after some stunning performances, which included a record four saves in a penalty shoot-out against Cabo Verde in the quarter-finals.
• Mamelodi Sundowns’ only previous competitive fixture against opposition from Korea Republic was a 4-1 defeat by Jeonbuk Motors in the fifth-place play-off at what is now known as the FIFA Intercontinental Cup™ in December 2016. Ulsan have yet to face African opponents in an official competitive match.
• Ulsan’s Um Won-sang and Lee Jae-ik were members of the Korea Republic squad that reached the final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2019, both featured in a 1-0 victory against South Africa in the group stage.
• Ulsan defender Yoon Jong-gyu is one of five players in the 32 rosters to have participated in at least one FIFA World Cup, FIFA Under-20 World Cup and a FIFA Under-17 World Cup previously; along with Koke (Atlético), Hector Moreno (Monterrey), Oscar Ustari (Inter Miami) and Timothy Weah (Juventus).

Ulsan HD vs Mamelodi Sundowns prediction

Ulsan were the highest-ranked team in AFC’s four-year ranking and earned their place at the Club World Cup as a result. Managed by former Hong Kong and Malaysia boss Kim Pan-gon, Ulsan are currently third in their domestic league having won the title in 2024 - their third in a row,

The ranking route was also how Mamelodi Sundowns reached the tournament, as they came second in the CAF equivalent. The South African side won their domestic league in 2024-25 for the eighth year in succession, and lost a two-legged CAF Champions League final to Egyptian outfit Pyramids at the beginning of June.

With Borussia Dortmund and Fluminense the other two competitors in Group F, both sides will view this fixture as their best chance for points. That could lead to a fairly attacking contest between two sides with fairly modest expectations overall. The Sundowns are marginally favoured but don't be surprised to see them concede along the way,

Ulsan HD vs Mamelodi Sundowns tip: Mamelodi Sundowns to win & both teams to score.