Miguel Cardoso proud of Sundowns despite Club World Cup exit

The Brazilians kicked off their tournament with a 1-0 win over Korean side Ulsan HD before a narrow 4-3 defeat to German giants Borussia Dortmund.

They needed a win against Brazil's Fluminense in their final group game to progress to the last 16, but only managed a goalless draw, at the Hard Rock Stadium on Wednesday.

Speaking after the game, Cardoso explained that his side showed they can compete with the world's best.

He said on IOL: "Some teams came here and took nothing but Mamelodi Sundowns leave with a lot, we took four points, we lost just one game and we drew one game in which it was clear we had the best chances.

"For those who don't know international football so well, I invite them to go and study Fluminense, Dortmund and Ulsan a little, and understand the level Sundowns played at during this Club World Cup.

"When we go out but set such a huge platform, you don't go through but you take a lot, you take prestige, you value your players, you make your club even more well known in the world."

Cardoso added that it was great to be able to show off the capabilities of Sundowns to the wider world.

"We have been showing good things for many years and now everyone in the world will talk about Mamelodi Sundowns because people like positive emotions," he explained.

"People like going home having seen an exciting game and we gave amazing emotions to people who like football.

"We are not happy, we had a clear objective for this match, but I am very proud of the level my players performed at.

"We leave and go home with our heads up because we are much stronger than we were when we came here."