Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)'s gust stopped in the quarterfinals.
Al Hilal lost 1-2 to Fluminensee (Brazil) in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on the 5th (Korea time). Al Hilal, who made a huge upset in the round of 16, defeating Man City, who was the defending champion and one of the strongest candidates, 4-3, failed to advance to the semifinals beyond South America's power. Even Al Hilal was eliminated, and the Asian club was wiped out.
Pluminensee, who played in the Club World Cup as the 2023 Cup Libertadores winner, defeated Inter Milan in the 2024-2025 European Champions League in the round of 16, and also beat star-studded Al Hilal to advance to the semifinals.
Al Hilal took out the 3-1-4-2 formation. Leonardo and Malcolm, who scored multiple goals in the last match against Manchester City, stood at the two-top. Motep al-Harvi, Nacel al-Dosari, Sergei Milinkovic-Savic and João Cancelo were in the second line. Mohammed Canoe stood in front of the three-back, while Henan Lord, Huven Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly made the three-back. Yasin Bunu kept the goal unchanged.
Pluminensi fought back 3-4-1-2. Hermann Canoe and Jon Arias came out as two-top players. Nonatu followed, with Garbiel Fuentes, Facundo Bernal, Martinelli and Samuel Javier setting up the midfield. Juan Frites, Thiago Silva and Inacio made up the three-back, and Fabio wore goalie gloves.
There was a tense flow in the beginning. Both teams continued to operate cautiously, focusing on defense rather than attack. The first shot of both teams came out in the 18th minute of the first half. Nonato of Fluminensee recorded.
The tide shifted towards Pluminensi. Fluminensey, who saw an opportunity as both side attacks revived, scored the first goal. In the 40th minute of the first half, Pluminensi broke down the right side and tried to cross. Cancelo failed to clear it properly. Fluminensey, who did not miss the opponent's mistake, attempted a cutback, and Martinelli scored with a powerful left-footed shot.
Al Hilal, who allowed the first goal, immediately launched a counterattack. Koulibaly tried a sharp header in the free kick situation in the first half. Goalkeeper Fabio, the oldest player in this tournament, defended nicely. A penalty was declared after a corner, but the video review invalidated it. The first half ended with Fluminensee's 1-0 lead.
At the start of the second half, Pluminense made a change by removing Martinelli and putting Ercules in.
Al Hilal, who missed a disappointing opportunity at the end of the first half, attacked from the beginning of the second half. In the end, he scored an equalizer. In the fifth minute of the second half, when Koulibaly dropped a header in a Connie kick situation, Leonardo calmly pushed his right foot into Shu. 1-1, put the game to square one.
Fluminensey changed two more players. Vinicius Lima and Evelado took the ground. Fluminensee took the lead again in the 24th minute of the second half. Erkules, who received Xavier's header pass after blocking Al Hilal's counterattack, caught the ball in the box. He ran away again, shaking Al Hilal's net with a right footed shot.
Al Hilal went on the offensive for the equaliser. They brought in a large number of strikers. But the ending was a bummer. Pluminensey's defense, which had a large number of defenders in the box, was solid, and no more goals were scored. Pluminensee won the first semifinal ticket. Al Hilal, who made all-out efforts in this tournament by recruiting Simone Inzaghi, drew with Real Madrid and won against Manchester City, but unfortunately ended the journey.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
