Sundowns coming home, but showed the world who they are at CWC
Downs attempted to throw some knockout blows in patches but, with less possession than they enjoyed in their first two games and Fluminense playing the percentages and turning on their not inconsiderable muscle to stifle play when they could, it was not always easy to land those.
Sundowns started fired-up, Fluminense fought back into the game and in the second half it took a strong effort form the South American outfit to keep the Africans club in check, which they executed with formidable precision.
The Brazilian team knew, with Borussia leading Ulsan in the other game (which the Germans won 1-0), a draw would see them through, a defeat Sundowns. So they sucked the oxygen out in the heat of Hard Rock Stadium, where the 3pm Florida-time kickoff game was played in 30°C heat.
Fluminense, aware of the threat of Sundowns, could not commit numbers to pushing for a win that would have seen them top the group — the Pretoria team were nothing but competitive until the end in the US.
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