Fluminense end Al Hilal’s fairytale run to reach Club World Cup semi-finals

Fluminense booked their place in the semi-finals of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup with a tense 2-1 victory over Al Hilal, bringing an end to the Saudi side’s remarkable campaign in the United States.

Al Hilal had already made headlines with a draw against Real Madrid and a stunning win over Manchester City, but Simone Inzaghi’s men couldn’t produce one more upset in the quarter-finals.

Fluminense strike first, but Al Hilal respond

The opening 45 minutes were largely cautious, until a moment of madness from João Cancelo handed Fluminense the lead. His poor decision to keep the ball in play gifted the Brazilians possession, and the move ended with a thunderous strike into the top corner from Martinelli.

To their credit, Al Hilal reacted quickly. They created several dangerous chances before half-time and were eventually rewarded early in the second half. Following a corner, Kalidou Koulibaly's header struck Leonardo, who instinctively fired into the net – 1-1.

Hércules wins it with a moment of class

Bono produced a superb one-on-one save against Germán Cano to keep Hilal in the game, but was finally beaten on 70 minutes.

Hércules refused to give up on a loose ball, collecting a pass from Xavier and guiding a low shot into the far corner to restore Fluminense’s lead.

Al Hilal threw everything forward in the closing stages, with Koulibaly and Rúben Neves joining the attack. But Fábio and Thiago Silva held firm, and with the final whistle, Fluminense celebrated a hard-fought win and a place in the final four.

2025 FIFA Club World Cup

Fluminense - Al Hilal SFC 2:1 (1:0)
Goals: Martinelli Matheus, 40 (1:0); Leonardo M., 51 (1:1); Hercules, 70 (2:1)

Fluminense: Fábio; Ignácio; Samuel Xavier (Guga, 83); Thiago Silva; Freytes; Fuentes G.; Bernal (Thiago Santos, 88); Martinelli Matheus (Hercules, 45); Nonato (Lima, 68); Arias J.; Cano (Everaldo, 68)
Bench: Eudes; Manoel; Soteldo; Ganso; Canobbio; Keno; Lavega; Lezcano; Paulo Baya; Serna
Yellow Cards: Freytes 36; Martinelli Matheus 44; Thiago Silva 66

Al Hilal SFC: Bounou; Al-Dawsari N. (Cesar Kaio, 83); Al-Harbi (Al-Bulayhi, 83); Cancelo (Al-Yami H., 90); Koulibaly K.; Renan Lodi; Kanno (Hamdallah, 75); Milinković-Savić S.; Ruben Neves; Leonardo M.; Malcom (Al-Juwayr, 90)
Bench: Al-Rubai; Al-Yami M.; Al Dawsari Kh.; Al-Shahrani; Lajami; Al-Ghannam; Al-Qahtani
Yellow Cards: Milinković-Savić S. 11; Renan Lodi 22; Koulibaly K. 90; Ruben Neves 90