Cape Town - Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane admitted his side lost to a better team in their fifth-place play-off against Jeonbuk Hyundai in the FIFA Club World Club.
The Brazilians were condemned to their second successive defeat and a sixth-placed finish in the competition after being thumped 4-1 by their Asian counterparts.
Defender Ricardo Nascimento's torrid first-half showing saw Jeonbuk race into a 3-0 lead at the half-time break, before Percy Tau netted Sundowns' first goal of the tournament with a scintillating effort.
The Asian champions managed to find another goal moments before the final whistle to put the tie well beyond doubt, but Mosimane says he is pleased with Downs' showings - citing the tournament as a good way of gauging where they stand in footballing standards.
"I'm happy with my boys, I'm proud of my boys. I think they played well," he said in post-match comments. "It was important to come and compete at the global level and only then would we know where we stand.
"You can see why they [Jeonbuk] are the Asian champions, they play good, quick football and we've learnt just like we did the first time in the [CAF] Champions League.
"They play at a high level and we now know our level in South Africa and in Africa, and now in the world."
He added: "It was a game of two halves again, but unlike the other times, we were the better side in the second half.
"We knew Jeonbuk would be tougher opponents than Kashima. They're the Asian champions and they're a better side than us."