Group F commences with Fluminense taking on Borussia Dortmund in what is the second meeting between CONMEBOL and UEFA clubs in the tournament.
Fluminense team news: Injured trio likely to miss out
At the age of 40, veteran centre-back Thiago Silva will lead the Fluminense defence, while pacey winger Jhon Arias is one to watch in the attacking areas.
Facundo Bernal, Agustin Canobbio and Otavio are all carrying injuries and could miss out.
Predicted XI (4-3-3): Fabio; Xavier, Silva, Freytes, Rene; Nonato, Santos, Martinelli; Arias, Everaldo, Serna.
Borussia Dortmund team news: Bellingham debut likely
Recent signing Jobe Bellingham looks poised to make his debut at some point in this opener, but it could well be from the substitutes bench as Dortmund boss Nilo Kovac goes with his tried-and-tested troops from the outset.
Nico Schlotterbeck, Emre Can and Salih Ozcan and are not expected to recover in time from their respective injuries for this fixture.
Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Kobel; Sule, Anton, Bensebaini; Ryerson, Sabitzer, Nmecha, Svensson; Brandt, Adeyemi; Guirassy.
Key stats
- Fluminense earned their place at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ after winning the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores for the first time in November 2023 courtesy of a 2-1 extra-time victory over Boca Juniors in the final.
- Striker German Cano was pivotal to Fluminense’s success in the 2023 Copa Libertadores, having remarkably finished the tournament with 13 goals in 12 matches. He was on the scoresheet in both legs of the quarter-finals and semi-finals, and then opened the scoring in the final.
- A member of the Fluminense team that reached the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores final in 2008, former Brazil captain Thiago Silva returned to the club in 2024 after a 15-year sojourn in Europe, where he starred for AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.
- Fluminense captain Thiago Silva was twice involved with teams that knocked Dortmund out of the UEFA Champions League in the round of 16 – Paris Saint-Germain in 2019/20 and Chelsea in 2022/23.
- Fluminense’s Colombian attacker Jhon Arias featured in all six matches for his national team when they reached the final at the 2024 Copa América in the USA.
- Winners of the UEFA Champions League in 1997 – when they defeated Juventus to win Europe’s top club prize, Dortmund are one of Germany’s most successful clubs with eight league titles and a collection of domestic cup triumphs.
- Dortmund have also reached the final of the UEFA Champions League on two further occasions, most recently in 2024 when they lost out against Real Madrid at Wembley. Their hopes for another title in 2024/25 ended with a 5-3 aggregate defeat against Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
- Dortmund’s previous experience in a competitive match against a Brazilian team was a 2-0 victory in the old Intercontinental Cup against Cruzeiro in Tokyo in December 1997.
- Dortmund were unbeaten when they played three pre-season matches in the USA in the summer of 2023. They concluded the tour with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea after a 6-0 win over San Diego Loyal and a 3-2 victory against Manchester United.
- Dortmund’s Guinean striker Serhou Guirassy scored an impressive tally of 13 goals in the UEFA Champions League this season, finishing as the joint-top scorer in the competition alongside Barcelona’s Raphinha. His total is the highest in a single-season by an African player.
- Among the Dortmund squad is USA international Giovanni Reyna and Cole Campbell who has represented the USA U-20 team.
