With Mamelodi Sundowns set to depart for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup after the CAF Champions League final, Soccer Laduma looks at their current world ranking, compared to their rivals in the group.
Sundowns are undoubtedly one of the leading clubs in Africa, even though they qualified for the Club World Cup through the ranking pathway, unlike Al Ahly, Esperance and Wydad Casablanca, who are previous champions in the last four years.
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Masandawana will be up against Borussia Dortmund of Germany, Brazilian club Fluminense and Ulsan HD of South Korea in Group F, kicking off their campaign against The Tigers on 18 June, in a tournament that will be held in the United States of America.
From a continent's point of view, The Tshwane giants enter Group F as the highest ranked side from their own confederation, as they are placed second, only behind Al Ahly in Africa, as per FootballDatabase.com, which updates their rankings on a weekly basis.
When it comes to the world wide rankings, The Brazilians appear at number 83 with 1658 points and are the second highest ranked team in the group, only behind Dortmund, who are placed ninth in the globe with 1887 points.
Masandawana are rated six places above Fluminense, who lie 89th from the global perspective, with 1647 points while Ulsan are the lowest ranked side in the section at number 271 with 1518 points.
Coming back to the confederation rankings, BVB have the same ranking in Europe, rated the ninth best team currently, with Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, in the UEFA Champions League final, rated first and second respectively, followed by Bayern Munich in third (also in the that order in the world rankings).
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Fluminense are rated tenth in South America, with Palmeiras, Flamengo and River Plate the three leading clubs. The Team of Warriors are also not one of the best in Brazil, ranked seventh in their own country.
Ulsan, meanwhile, are rated at number 16 in Asia, far behind leading clubs Al Hilal, Al Nassr and Al Ahli, all in the top three from Saudi Arabia.
Interestingly, Sundowns in the world rankings are ahead of clubs like West Ham United, Scottish Rangers, Al Nassr and Real Sociedad.
