Proper test for Sundowns

The expanded Club World Cup gathers momentum this week with several enthralling clashes and there are several grand opportunities for TAB soccer customers to win bundles of cash including carryover Soccer 13 pools tonight and on Sunday, as well as a R200,000-added Soccer 10 this Friday night.

- By Mark Gleeson

Mamelodi Sundowns' adventure at the FIFA Club World Cup continues this Saturday when they take on Borussia Dortmund, undoubtedly the toughest side they have yet faced in competitive football in terms of achievement and reputation.

The attraction of the new-look competition to Sundowns is not only the financial and prestige side of participation, but also that they get to test themselves against some of the top sides in world football.

Dortmund won the UEFA Champions League back in 1997 and were runners-up to Real Madrid last year. They got to the quarter-finals in the season that has just ended with Barcelona knocking them out 5-3 on aggregate at that point.

Struggling in mid-table earlier in the year, the Ruhr club surged up the Bundesliga standings under new coach Niko Kovac to eventually finish fourth and qualify for next season's Champions League on the final day.