Mamelodi Sundowns have missed out on the Club World Cup knockout stages after a goalless draw against Brazil’s Fluminense on Wednesday night at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. The defeat meant Bafana Bafana finished third in the group stages.

Lucas Ribeiro was the first to pull the trigger of the match outside the box, but his shot was met by the goalkeeper’s bucket hands. Fluminense were giving Downs space, which allowed them to not only dominate possession but also create chances.

Tashreeq Matthews spurned a good chance in front of the goal, but his effort was smacked away by the keeper’s chest. Divine Lunga also came close to breaking the deadlock for his side after Themba Zwane delivered him the ball on the left flank, but the Fluminense defence made a clearance to deny them a goal.

Counterpressing almost benefited the Pretoria-based side, but Fluminense managed to clear the ball away from the danger area. Danger loomed for Downs just after the 20-minute mark, but luckily, Khuliso Mudau headed the ball away to keep the scoreline at 0-0.

The Rio de Janeiro-based side were close to opening the scoring after the cooling break, but the ball went slightly wide. Despite Bafana Ba Style dominating the opening half, they went to the break with a goalless draw.

The second stanza kicked off with an early corner kick awarded to Masandawana. Taken by Lucas Ribeiro, the shot was too powerful to find the right person in the area. In the 58th minute, the Brazilian-based outfit came close to opening the floodgates, but they were denied by the woodwork. Substitute Mosa Lebusa saved the day for Downs after he slid to make an important tackle, denying Fluminense a goal just inside 70 minutes.

In added time, Masandawana almost saw a goal, but the effort was headed out by the Fluminense defence. After 90 minutes of a titanic tussle between the two sides, the match ended with no goals, seeing Downs exit the tournament.