Right after the opening whistle, both teams entered the match cautiously. Fluminense has been more proactive in controlling the game thanks to his flexible movement in midfield, especially the mobility of Jhon Arias and Gabriel Fuentes on the two wings. However, their initial attacking efforts were not sharp enough to penetrate Al-Hilal's closed defense.
On the other hand, Al-Hilal also created some notable opportunities from quick counter-attacks. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and kalidou Koulibaly are two prominent names with their ability to compete and organize effective attacks. However, goalkeeper Fabio of Fluminense still kept the net.
The turning point of the match came in the 40th minute when Gabriel Fuentes had an accurate cross for Matheus Martinelli to rush in and finish to open the score for Fluminense. This is a worthy reward for the South American representative's efforts to control the game.
Before the end of the first half, Al-Hilal thought they had an opportunity to equalize from the penalty spot after a collision in the penalty area, but VAR intervened and the referee decided not to award a penalty.
In the second half, Al-Hilal pushed up their formation to find an equalizer and it only took them 6 minutes to realize that. Ruben Neves took a corner kick, Koulibaly jumped high to head the ball over for Marcos Leonardo to shoot close to the goal to equalize 1-1. The goal helped the Asian representative get excited and create many storms towards the goal Fluminense.
However, it was at a time when Al-Hilal was most excited that Fluminense once again proved their class. In the 70th minute, from a combination on the right wing, Samuel Xavier headed in for Hercles to finish decisively, setting the score at 2-1.
In the final minutes, Al-Hilal tried to get up but encountered a strong defense and solidity from goalkeeper Fabio. In the end, Fluminense won 2-1 and advanced to the Club World Cup semi-finals. Al-Hilal had to stop despite playing with great effort.
