A first-half goal from Daniel Svensson secured Borussia Dortmund's place in the Club World Cup round of 16, as they claimed a 1-0 victory over South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai on Wednesday.
2025 Club World Cup
1-0
Match Report
The German side started strongly, with Jobe Bellingham, Felix Nmecha and Karim Adeyemi posing a constant threat to Ulsan's defence and Svensson broke the deadlock in the 36th minute with a close-range strike.
"I am elated that we managed to create more goal-scoring chances than in the other two matches. This was our overall objective. I think that we dominated the match and we created so many great opportunities," Dortmund midfielder Svensson told reporters.
Ulsan goalkeeper Hyeon-Woo Jo made several impressive saves to prevent Dortmund from extending their lead, denying Serhou Guirassy's powerful header.
Pascal Gross thought he had doubled Dortmund's advantage with a well-struck left-footed shot, but Jo was equal to the task once again.
Dortmund players celebrate after scoring a goal against Ulsan HD in the Club World Cup.
Ulsan improved after the break, finding space as they looked for an equaliser with Lee Jin-hyun's shot from a difficult angle on the left saved by Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel on the hour mark.
Despite continued pressure, Dortmund failed to find the net with Julien Duranville shooting wide and Jo stopping a Yan Couto attempt in the dying minutes.
"We only scored one goal because the Korean team had a very good goalkeeper... But overall, I think that my team dominated the first half," Dortmund manager Niko Kovac told a press conference.
American midfielder Giovanni Reyna made his first appearance of the tournament, entering for Dortmund in the 78th minute. FIFA gave player priority to the Club World Cup, preventing Reyna from being with the United States at the Concacaf Gold Cup where Mauricio Pochettino's side is readying for a quarterfinal match against Costa Rica on Sunday.
Dortmund finished top of Group F with seven points, two points clear of Brazilian side Fluminense in second after they drew 0-0 with Mamelodi Sundowns. The South African champions finished third in the group with four points while Ulsan were bottom after losing all three of their games.
Dortmund will next face the runner-up from Group E, either River Plate, Inter Milan or Monterrey.
Match Events
36' GOAL! Dortmund 1-0 Ulsan HD (Daniel Svensson)
Line-ups
Dortmund XI: Gross, Guirassy, Anton, Kobel, Bensebaini, Ryerson, Adeyemi, Nmecha, Yan Couto, Daniel Svensson, Jobe Bellingham
Subs: Meyer, Sabitzer, Sule, Brandt, Reyna, Beier, Chukwuemeka, Ayman Azhil, Soumaïla Coulibaly, Filippo Mané, Ostrzinski, Cole Campbell, Duranville, Mathis Albert, Samuele Inácio
Ulsan HD XI: Kim Young-Gwon, Darijan Bojanic, Cho Hyun-Woo, Sang-woo Kang, Milosz Trojak, Min-hyuk Kim, Jin-hyun Lee, Erick Farias, Gustav Ludwigson, Jae-ik Lee, Matías Lacava
Subs: Lee, Kim Min-Woo, Jung Woo-Young, Seung-beom Ko, Jung-in Moon, Min-seo Park, Hui-gyun Lee, Yago Cariello, Yool Heo, Seok-hyeon Choi, Myeong-kwan Seo, Min-woo Kang, In-woo Back, Jae-seok Yoon, Seong-min