Saudi Arabia's rich club Al Hilal is the only Asian club to advance to the round of 16 at the Club World Cup.
Al Hilal, led by Italian master Simone Inzaghi, beat Pachuca (Mexico) 2-0 in the third Group H match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup held at Geodis Park in Nashville on the 27th (Korea time) thanks to Salem al-Dosari's first goal in the first half and Leonardo's net goal in the second half.
Al Hilal, who surprised the soccer world by drawing 1-1 with Real Madrid (Spain) in the opening match, went undefeated in the second match with Salzburg (Austria). It added three points on the day, and with a total of five points, it brought down Salzburg (four points), which was completely defeated by the leader Real (7 points) at the same time, and recaptured the second place.
In the Club World Cup, which has been expanded to 32 teams, a total of 16 teams from the top 1 and 2 teams in eight groups will advance to the round of 16. Al Hilal will face England's powerhouse Man City in the round of 16 as the second-ranked player in Group H. Manchester City beat Juventus 5-2 in the third round of the group stage and ranked first in Group G. Real will compete with Juventus, which is ranked second in Group H, to advance to the quarterfinals.
Al Hilal was the only participating team in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to advance to the round of 16. Ulsan (Korea), Urawa (Japan), and Al Ain (United Arab Emirates) were unfortunately eliminated in the group stage. Al Ain, Park Yong-woo's team, had to be satisfied with winning one game after beating Widad (Morocco) 2-1 in the final match on the 27th.
Al Hilal, who boasts a 'luxury squad', has a starting lineup of Leonardo, Malkong, Al Dosari, Sergei Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves, Henan Lodge, Kalidou Koulibaly, João Cancelo and Bunu. Pachuca put Salomon Rondon and Kennedy in front.
Al Hilal took the lead by scoring the first goal in the 22nd minute of the first half. Blocked the opponent's pass at the halfway line. Nasser al-Dosari poked a lobbing pass into the box. Salem al-Dosari, who caught the ball, emptied the goal and cut the net with a sensational lobbing shot to avoid the defense of the opposing goalkeeper who ran out.
Al Hilal persistently defended his opponent's strong offensive in the second half without allowing a run. Just before the end of the game, Leonardo scored a net goal in the 5th minute of extra time in the second half to win 2-0.
Meanwhile, Real, led by Xavi Alonso, finished 2-0 ahead of Salzburg in Philadelphia with back-to-back goals from Vinicius Junior in the 40th minute and Federico Valverde in the 3rd minute of extra time. In the 39th minute of the second half, Gonzalo Garcia's additional goal won the game 3-0.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
