Fluminense beat Al Hilal 2-1 to reach Club World Cup semis
ORLANDO: Substitute Hercules struck a 70th-minute winner as Brazil’s Fluminense defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal 2-1 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Club World Cup. A fine left-foot finish from Matheus Martinelli had put the Rio club ahead in the 40th minute but Al Hilal’s Brazilian forward Marcos Leonardo levelled six minutes into the second half before Hercules stole the show to the delight of the vast majority of the 43,091 crowd. Fluminense could yet face an all-Brazilian semifinal if their rivals from Sao Paulo, Palmeiras, are able to overcome Premier League outfit Chelsea in Friday’s other quarter-final. Al Hilal had pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, beating Manchester City 4-3, to reach the last eight and Simone Inzaghi’s side fought hard until the end to keep their adventure alive. They bow out of the tournament having been unbeaten through the group stage, including holding Real Madrid to a draw, and having truly made their mark on the world stage. There was a moment’s silence before the kick-off in memory of Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota and his younger brother Andre Silva, who died in the early hours of Thursday after their car veered off a motorway in Spain and burst into flames. Al Hilal’s line-up featured two of Jota’s Portugal team-mates in Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo. The first half was a tight and tactical affair with few chances until Martinelli opened the scoring when he picked the ball up from Gabriel Fuentes inside the box and span out to give himself space for a left-foot shot that rocketed past Yassine Bounou. Al Hilal went close to a quick response when Kalidou Koulibaly’s header forced Fluminense’s 44-year-old goalkeeper Fabio into a fine save. The Saudi side