Mamelodi Sundowns are preparing for their first Club World Cup match against Ulsan HD on Wednesday morning and can take some lessons from what has been witnessed at the tournament.
Five matches have already been played and one of them involved an African team after Al Ahly recorded a goalless draw with a Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami on Sunday morning.
In that match, both sides had their chances with the goalkeepers producing impressive performances, but Al Ahly will blame themselves for not taking their chances as they also missed a penalty.
From the match, there are some five key lessons that Sundowns can pick ahead of their clash with Ulsan.
Be brave
Al Ahly were not afraid to take on Inter Miami even with Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez in their ranks and they were the better side for most of the encounter.
The Egyptian giants took the game to Inter Miami and opened them up easily, something Sundowns have quality to do, and were it not for poor finishing, they should have won.
Sundowns are capable of taking the game to the opponent and have players who can finish off the chances when presented but only if they are brave enough to force the issue.
Take your chances
At this level, not every team will get three or four chances as it could be down to one or two moments and Sundowns must take advantage.
Al Ahly would be on three points and looking for a second win to advance from their group but failure to kill off Inter Miami leaves them requiring to win tougher matches against Palmeiras and FC Porto.
Sundowns can avoid this by being clinical in front of goal, something they have been too prolific in throughout their PSL campaign.
Defensively solid
Defense will be key to every team at the tournament and Sundowns have to avoid conceding at all costs.
Here, it is not just the back four but including the goalkeeper and Ronwen Williams will have to come up trumps when his defence is breached, as both Mohamed El Shenawy and Oscar Ustari display in the opening match of the tournament.
Sundowns have shown especially in the CAF Champions League that they can be hard to beat, even if they were breached in the final, and have to remain tight at the back during the tournament.
It’s teamwork not individual glory
Another thing that Al Ahly displayed to their disadvantage was selfishness among their forwards which Sundowns must avoid.
There was a moment when Al Ahy were on attack in a 3v2 situation, having outnumbered the Inter Miami defenders while on the counter, but instead of passing the ball went for individual glory and missed.
Then came the penalty and Trezeguet grabbed the ball away from Wessam Abou Ali, the designated taker, only to miss. Sundowns need no reminding how costly this is.
Beware of the heat
Sundowns would have by now learned about how hot it can get and the summer heat in Florida will have an impact on performances.
The game will be played in projected temperatures of 34°C and given what has been witnessed, there is an expected drop in intensity when the heat takes its toll.
Sundowns have to be careful not to drop their levels at key moments as that is when the killer blow could arrive.
