5 things we learned from Al-Hilal’s draw with Red Bull Salzburg at FIFA Club World Cup

DC: Al-Hilal dominated Red Bull Salzburg on Sunday night in the second group match of the FIFA Club World Cup. The match was played at Audi Field, a mere three kilometres south of the White House in Washington, D.C.

Yet while they ultimately failed to capitalise on possession, they could even have lost were it not for another superb performance from stand-out Yassine Bounou in goal.

The 0-0 draw means no team from Group H has yet confirmed their place in the Round of 16, but with Hilal facing bottom-placed CF Pachuca on Thursday and Salzburg facing Real Madrid, the Riyadh club will be quietly confident of progressing, as long as they can find the net.

Another draw and frustration for Inzaghi, but all is not lost

New coach Simone Inzaghi knew his Al-Hilal team could not afford to lose if they were to stand any chance of progressing to the knock-out stages of this revamped 32-team tournament. The Italian went as far as to publicly say that anything less than victory would void all that was achieved against Real Madrid on Wednesday. A stalemate then against Salzburg — with strong emphasis on the word “stale” — did little to clarify who might progress to the Round of 16. Inzaghi, however, must surely be privately if not publicly the happier of the two coaches. 

It was the fifth scoreless draw of the tournament so far, but it means Inzaghi’s side are alive going into the final Group H match with Mexico’s CF Pachuca. Now in third place with two points, the 2021 AFC Asian Champions League winners will progress should they win in Nashville by two clear goals. Madrid and Salzburg, tied on four points, will face off in Philadelphia with the Spanish giants’ plus-two goal difference giving them an edge should they draw.

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