Fluminense 0-0 Borussia Dortmund: Brazilians dominate in New Jersey but forced to settle for a point | OneFootball

Fluminense held Borussia Dortmund to a goalless draw in their FIFA Club World Cup opener on Tuesday, confirming that all four of Brazil’s representatives avoided defeat in the first round of fixtures.

Fluzão – who were defeated by Manchester City in the CWC final two years ago – capitalised on shoddy play by their opponents but were unable to find that finishing touch, and were ultimately forced to settle for a point despite a dominant performance.

As it happened

Backed by vocal supporters at the MetLife Stadium, which will host next year’s FIFA World Cup final, Fluminense looked to force a promising start when Jhon Arias fired over the crossbar after breaking forward at pace. The winger was a livewire throughout the early stages, picking out Renê two minutes later as he also blazed his effort over the bar.

But die Schwarzgelben did eventually wake up in New Jersey, with Karim Adeyemi darting infield from the left flank in an attempt to pick out Serhou Guirassy with a cross. Dortmund had certainly taken some time to grow into the match, though they were still yet to find an opener as Ramy Bensebaini joined an ever-growing list of players to have sent strikes well off-target just before the half-hour mark.

Fluminense looked to regain control of proceedings following the break with Martinelli finding Arias on the flank, though the winger’s cutback was dealt with by Gregor Kobel, who then denied Agustín Canabbio seconds later as Renato Portaluppi’s side grew increasingly frustrated with their inability to find the opener.

Jobe Bellingham was introduced on the hour mark to make his first Dortmund appearance after his recent move from Sunderland, though he wasn’t able to produce a dreamy debut in the US as Fluminense unleashed shot after shot in desperation.

Conobbia and Martinelli both saw strikes turned wide of the post by the Dortmund defence before a magnificent double save from Kobel miraculously kept the game goalless. The Germans were presented with one final chance inside six minutes of stoppage time, though Niklas Süle was left frustrated by a strong save from Fábio.

Both teams return to action on Saturday 21 June and will expect to pick up their first wins at the FIFA Club World Cup, with Dortmund facing Mamelodi Sundowns at 17:00 BST, and Fluminense coming up against Ulsan at 23:00 BST.