
The match kicked off at noon local time, so it was perhaps unsurprising that the stadium was only half full. New York/New Jersey has a significant Brazilian population, and the crowd of 34,763 was tilted toward Fluminense, with fans waving flags and singing for their team.
Fluminense’s best scoring chance came in the 58th minute on a left-footed shot by Agustín Canobbio that was saved by Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Dortmund’s new signing Jobe Bellingham, the brother of Real Madrid star Jude, made his debut for Dortmund in the 59th minute as a substitute for Pascal Gross.
The German club qualified for the Club World Cup with a top-four finish in the Bundesliga, while Fluminense qualified as the 2023 Copa Libertadores champion.
Fluminense played more aggressively, and had 14 shots to Dortmund’s seven. The Germans held the possession advantage at 54.5%.
Fluminense next play on Saturday evening against South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai at MetLife. Dortmund face South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday afternoon in Cincinnati.
River Plate 3-1 Urawa Red Diamonds
River Plate opened their Club World Cup campaign with a 3-1 win over Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday, with goals from Facundo Colidio, Sebastián Driussi and Maxi Meza enough to see off a spirited challenge from the Japanese side.
The Argentine team got off to a dominant start and opened the scoring after 12 minutes when Colidio headed home a fine cross from Marcos Acuña on the left.
Driussi doubled the lead three minutes into the second half, capitalising on a poor header back from Marius Høibråten to head the ball over the advancing goalkeeper Shūsaku Nishikawa and into an empty net.
Striker Driussi was forced off soon after, having picked up an injury in the build up, and Urawa pulled one back in the 58th minute through Yūsuke Matsuo, who calmly converted a penalty following a foul by Acuña.
While Urawa pushed hard for an equaliser, substitute Meza delivered the decisive blow in the 73rd minute, with yet another header from Acuña’s corner, his second assist of the match.
River will face Mexico’s Monterrey on Saturday, while Urawa take on Champions League runners-up Inter Milan in Group E.
Ulsan 0-1 Mamelodi Sundowns
Iqraam Rayners scored in the 36th minute and Ronwen Williams made two saves to guide Mamelodi Sundowns to a 1-0 victory over Ulsan HD.
South Africa international Rayners had a pair of would-be goals disallowed for a handball and an offside call, respectively, before he finally converted the lone goal of the match. Lucas Ribeiro Costa split two defenders with a well-placed lead pass, Rayners collected it at the edge of the area and he deposited the ball in the bottom left corner.
Williams protected the thin margin in the 81st minute when he got a hand on substitute Matias Lacava’s shot. The ball was still on a trajectory for the goal, but Sundowns defender Keanu Cupido made a heroic clearance.
The victory gave the South Africans an unexpected lead in Group F after Dortmund’s draw with Fluminense earlier in the day.
Monterrey 1-1 Inter
Sergio Ramos scored from a header in the 25th minute and Monterrey held on for a 1-1 draw against Inter in Tuesday’s final game. A 42nd-minute goal from Lautaro Martinez leveled the contest.
Ramos, the 39-year-old former Real Madrid star, rose to knock in a corner from Oliver Torres. Inter, coming off a blowout loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final, pulled even on a well-worked set piece. Kristjan Asllani chipped a free-kick over the Monterrey defence. Inter’s Carlos Augusto ran onto the ball and squared a pass to Martinez for an easy tap-in.