They say a good team grows into a tournament game by game. That seems to be exactly what Borussia Dortmund are doing at this FIFA Club World Cup™.

After a shaky start against Fluminense FC, Dortmund downed Mamelodi Sundowns in a chaotic second game, before delivering their best performance yet in the final group match, winning convincingly against Ulsan HD.

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Is that improvement enough to go all the way in the Club World Cup? Probably not yet, but if Dortmund’s current run of form continues, there’s no reason why CF Monterrey in the Round-of-16 should mark the end of the road.

Dortmund finished the Bundesliga season in style after Kovac took the reins in February, winning their last six matches. Bringing that momentum across to the USA however, was never going to be easy. “Of course I know we played very differently in the Bundesliga,” said Kovac, “but every single player is pushing and trying their best.”

Dortmund were not far away from putting in a top performance against Mamelodi and Ulsan, but something was still missing. “Maybe we just lacked a bit of ruthlessness,” admitted Julian Brandt. “We had a lot of very good chances. Sometimes we need to lift our heads up and find our teammate in a better position.”

The coach doesn’t disagree with this analysis, but added: “You can only score goals if you create chances, so I’m content with that. We played better against Ulsan than in the first two matches.”

Small but steady steps forward. Not aiming too high too soon (and risking failure), but building success through steady, solid progress – could that be the winning formula for this Club World Cup? “Yes, that may be the way,” defender Daniel Svensson told FIFA. “In the first game we took it slowly, the second game was a bit better. And against Ulsan we improved again.”

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“We’re just trying to stay compact as a team,” added the Swede, who has nailed down his place on the left side of defence thanks to his tireless running. “It’s about getting a little more aggressive and winning those duels. Those are the basics.”

Kovac had the final word on how much more Dortmund can improve during this tournament. “Now it’s knockout football, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty,” said the Croatian. “There’s a lot of prestige at stake and I believe the quality will keep going up.”

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