Fluminense stun Al-Hilal to reach Club World Cup semi-final

Brazil's Fluminense continued their fairy-tale run at the Club World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal on Friday in Orlando, Florida, to book their place in the semi-finals.

The tournament underdogs struck first through Matheus Martinelli in the opening half before Al-Hilal hit back after the break when Marcus Leonardo found the net.

But Fluminense refused to be denied and regained their lead in the 70th minute through Hercules to secure a memorable win over Al-Hilal in the first meeting between the two clubs.

"If you asked me a while ago whether we would reach this stage, a semi-final, I wouldn't say I wouldn't believe it because I believe in everything that I do, but it was so far away from us," said captain Thiago Silva.

The Brazilian side, who entered the tournament as one of the biggest long shots, will now face the winners of Friday's other quarter-final clash between Palmeiras and Chelsea.

Fluminense opened the scoring when Joao Cancelo failed to clear his line, allowing Gabriel Fuentes to roll the ball to Martinelli who brilliantly picked out the far post with a left-footed strike into the top right corner.

"Many people didn't believe in our potential, in our team but each game and each step we proved we can be tough," said Martinelli, who will miss the semi-final after picking up a yellow card shortly after his goal.

"When we step on the pitch it's difficult to beat our team."

During first-half stoppage time, a rising Kalidou Koulibaly headed the ball on target but a fully-stretched Fabio used his left hand to swat it away and keep Fluminense in front.

Al-Hilal made a quick start to the second half and drew level after a cushioned header from a wide-open Koulibaly hit the legs of Leonardo, who quickly