'Never seen that' - Bizarre reason Borussia Dortmund subs missed Jobe Bellingham’s first goal for club against Mamelodi Sundowns at Club World Cup

So hot was the temperature at the TQL Stadium in Ohio that Borussia Dortmund's substitutes opted not to watch the first half from the pitch-side. Instead, they were inside the locker room and were watching on a TV as Jobe Bellingham scored his first goal for the club. Bellingham followed in his brother Jude's footsteps by netting on his first start for the Bundesliga giants.

Bellingham joins first training session with Borussia Dortmund

Video credit: SNTV

Football substitutes often have the best seat in the house to watch matches.

But that was not the case for Borussia Dortmund’s subs in their FIFA Club World Cup match against Mamelodi Sundowns.

Dortmund won 4-3 against South African side Sundowns with Jobe Bellingham scoring his first goal for the club since his summer move from Sunderland.

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But Dortmund’s subs were not pitch-side to see the goal, instead they were watching the first half from inside the locker room due to the sweltering heat at TQL Stadium in Ohio.

"Our subs watched the first half from inside the locker room to avoid the blazing sun at TQL Stadium – never seen that before, but in this heat, it absolutely makes sense," posted Dortmund on X.

The temperature was 87°F (30.5°C) in Cincinnati, Ohio when the match kicked off at midday local time.

The hot weather comes just a few days after another match played at the TQL Stadium between Red Bull Salzburg and Pachuca was suspended for three hours due to heavy rain.

Dortmund coach Niko Kovac said ahead of the game against Mamelodi Sundowns that teams from the "south" have a "big advantage" as they are more accustomed to the hot weather.

"For the spectators in the stadium it is incredibly hot, [so] now you can imagine how difficult it is for the players," said Kovac.

"It’s 32 degrees when you're in the shade, and you're not even in the sun. So when you play inside the stadium you can assume it is three, four or five degrees even hotter.

"These are not excuses, it's just an explanation...this is very difficult, especially for the Europeans. The players from the south, for them it's easier because they are used to these temperatures."

Jobe follows in Jude’s footsteps

Jobe Bellingham followed his brother Jude by making the move from England to the Bundesliga club.

He also repeated what his brother did by scoring on his first start for the club.

"It's a really nice bonus. I am glad we won but there are still a lot of things for me to improve on personally and for the team. I am really pleased with it," Jobe told DAZN.

"I practise that so many times, not that exact finish, but arriving late on the edge of the box as a midfielder is something you need to be really good at.

"If you can score, if you can contribute those kind of goals a certain amount per season then you are doing really well.

"I was really pleased because it was something I practised as a kid and at Sunderland so many times, during training, after training. So yeah, I am really proud of it."

Jude left Dortmund in 2023 to sign for Real Madrid in a €103 million (£88.5m) deal.

Dortmund play Ulsan in their final group game on Wednesday.

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