Giant-Killing Act At Club WC: Fluminense Eliminate Inter, Al Hilal Stun Man City In 7-Goal Thriller
Key Points
The Brazilian side shocked UEFA Champions League finalists Inter with a 2-0 win, powered by early brilliance from Germán Cano and a stoppage-time strike by Hercules.
Saudi giants Al Hilal defeated Premier League champions Man City 4-3 in extra time, with Marcos Leonardo scoring twice in a dramatic upset.
The two underdogs, Fluminense and Al Hilal, will now battle for a semifinal spot at the FIFA Club World Cup in Orlando on July 5.
Charlotte / Orlando (USA), Jul 1: Giant-killing acts are quite normal in sports where hot favourite participants – be it a team or an individual – suffer shocking defeats against underdogs. The ongoing FIFA Club World Cup has witnessed a couple of similar acts on Tuesday (IST).
Fluminense FC, a Brazilian club, stunned UEFA Champions League finalists and Italian giants Inter Milan with a 2-0 victory to advance to the quarterfinals at Bank of America Stadium. In another match, Marcos Leonardo settled an instant classic to give Saudi side Al Hilal 4-3 victory over English Premier League powerhouse Manchester City to reach the last 8 stage.
A statement Win
Fluminense impressed from the off and their early pressure paid off when they turned an Inter giveaway into a third-minute lead. Rene started the quick counter-attack by getting the ball out wide to Jhon Arias, whose cross was deflected by Alessandro Bastoni.
The ball sailed over two Inter defenders in the penalty area and landed in front of Cano, who headed the ball between goalkeeper Jan Sommer’s legs and into the net, FIFA reports.
Fluminense had a chance to make it 2-0 in the 30th minute when Jhon Arias’ curling strike forced Sommer into a diving save. The rebound fell to Samuel Xavier, who missed the open net by pulling his shot wide of the far post.
Despite having most of the possession and putting continuous pressure on the Brazilians with multiple scoring opportunities, Inter failed to find the equaliser.
But as pressure mounted, Inter were caught by a classic sucker-punch in the third minute of added time, when Hercules's left-footed shot at the top of the box beat Sommer to seal Fluminese's last-eight spot.
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✨Not All About Money!
Saudi League is considered as a league for players to earn fortunes with mega deals. Players, who are in their twilight phase of their careers, choose the league in the desert nation to bag a large sum of money which they couldn’t in the European leagues.
However, Al Hilal, the 19-time Saudi Pro League champions, proved that the league is not all about money, and that to in a stellar fashion.
Simone Inzaghi-managed side stunned Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who were hot favourites for the title alongside Champions League winners PSG and Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid. The scoreline ended 4-3 in favour of Al Hilal after more than 120 minutes of thrilling contest.
Bernardo Silva opened the scoring inside just nine minutes. Al-Hilal responded with two goals in the first six minutes of the second half through Marcos Leonardo and Malcom before Erling Haaland quickly levelled.
Al-Hilal again took the lead early in extra time through Kalidou Koulibaly before Phil Foden’s 100th City goal pulled Man City level. However, it was Leonardo who proved the match winner late on for Al-Hilal.
What’s next?
The giant-killers – Fluminense and Al Hilal – will now face off at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Friday for a place in the semifinals.
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