Fluminense and Manchester City won their matches in the Club World Cup semifinal, setting the stage for a historic final in Saudi Arabia. The showdown will be characterized by the clash between Fernando Diniz and Pep Guardiola, managers who highly value ball possession but employ structurally different approaches.
The Club World Cup will have a first-time champion, as it is the inaugural participation for both City and Fluminense in the competition.
Check out how the semifinal matches unfolded.
Follow us on social networks to stay updated on the latest foreign football news: Instagram, Facebook e Twitter.
Index
Fluminense 2×0 Al-Ahly
In the previous round, Al-Ahly, the African Champions League winner, comfortably defeated Al-Ittihad, a Saudi team with globally recognized stars like Benzema, Kanté, and Fabinho.
In the semifinal, Fluminense and Al-Ahly engaged in a highly contested match with significant chances for both teams. However, the Tricolor emerged victorious, relying on Marcelo’s brilliance and John Kennedy’s star power.
In the first half, Fluminense hit the woodwork twice with Arias, but the Egyptian team dominated, controlling the game.
At the 5th minute, Percy Tau took a shot from outside the box, deflected off the defense, narrowly missing the crossbar.
At the 8th minute, Arias hit the woodwork for the first time. Keno maneuvered past the defense on the left and crossed to the far post. The Colombian struck first-time with the instep, and the ball hit the post.
Al-Ahly posed a threat in aerial plays and came close to scoring at the 18th minute. After a corner kick, Abdelmonem flicked the ball at the near post, and Samuel Xavier heroically cleared it off the goal line.
At the 23rd minute, John Arias hit the woodwork again. In a rehearsed play, Ganso took a low corner, Arias anticipated and shot, with the ball deflecting and hitting the post.
At the 35th minute, Percy Tau led a swift counter-attack and passed to El Shahat, who advanced and tried a placed shot. The ball deflected off the defense, and Kahraba, unmarked in the small area, headed for a great reflex save by Fábio.
In the second half, Fluminense improved, gaining more ball possession as usual, but still conceded dangerous counter-attacks to Al-Ahly.
At the 8th minute, Flu executed a good triangulation, and the ball reached Cano inside the box. The Argentine could have attempted a pass in the middle but took a shot, narrowly missing the post.
At the 10th minute, Al-Ahly threatened again on the counter-attack. El Shahat passed to Kahraba inside the box, behind the defense, but his shot was weak, and Fábio collected the ball.
At the 17th minute, Percy Tau set up El Shahat on the left. The Egyptian advanced, swayed past Nino, and shot for Fábio to parry.
Fluminense found relief in the game through Marcelo’s brilliance. At the 22nd minute, Martinelli made an excellent switch to the maestro, who executed a spectacular nutmeg on Percy Tau, subsequently drawing a penalty. Arias took the penalty with great finesse, hitting the cheek of the net.
Photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Immediately after the goal, Fluminense almost conceded an equalizer. Percy Tau received an excellent through ball, found himself unmarked near the penalty spot but headed straight to Fábio.
At the 32nd minute, Maâloul crossed, Taher outpaced Marlon, and Fábio, well-positioned, made another save.
In their relentless pursuit of an equalizer, Al-Ahly left many spaces for Flu’s counter-attacks. At the 41st minute, in a 2-on-1 play, John Kennedy set Cano face-to-face with the goalkeeper, but the Argentine failed to capitalize on the opportunity.
At the 44th minute, John Kennedy’s star shone as usual. Martinelli won the duel with the defense, passed to John Kennedy, who calmly cut to the left and shot into the corner, sending the Tricolor fans into ecstasy.
Photo: Lucas Merçon/Fluminense FC
With the victory, Fluminense secured their spot in the final of the Club World Cup against Manchester City on Friday (22), at 15:00 (Brasília time).
Manchester City 3×0 Urawa Reds
Manchester City comfortably defeated Urawa Reds, though there’s a “silver lining” for Flu fans as Haaland, De Bruyne, and Doku, despite traveling with the squad, were ruled out of the World Cup due to injuries.
In the first half, City dominated possession, controlled the attack, but posed little danger to the Japanese team.
The first dangerous chance came from Urawa Reds. At the 8th minute, Stones poorly back-passed to Éderson, Kanté challenged the goalkeeper, and the ball went wide.
At the 18th minute, Grealish found a good pass for Bernardo Silva in the box. The Portuguese took a first-time shot, and Nishikawa saved comfortably.
At the 30th minute, Bernardo Silva passed to Matheus Nunes on the edge of the area. The midfielder evaded the marker, struck hard, and Nishikawa made a good save.
At the 35th minute, City took a short corner, and the ball reached Foden, who shot from outside the area, and the goalkeeper parried for a corner.
City opened the scoring in the last minute of the first half. Matheus Nunes advanced on the right, crossed, and defender Hoibraaten slid in, diverting the ball into his own net.
In the first minute of the second half, Walker was dispossessed by Koizumi, who quickly found Kanté in the box. However, the striker hesitated and shot blocked by the defense.
At the 5th minute, City extended their lead. Walker delivered a beautiful pass to Kovacic, behind the defense, who finished past Nishikawa.
Photo: GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP
At the 10th minute, Grealish eluded the defense on the left and crossed. Matheus Nunes headed unmarked but sent the ball wide.
Manchester City sealed the deal at the 14th minute. Matheus Nunes cut inside and shot; the goalkeeper made the save, and on the rebound, Bernardo Silva capitalized on the deflection in the marking to score City’s third goal.
After the 3-0 lead, City managed their advantage and relaxed. They eased off, but still created new opportunities. Grealish had the best chance to extend the lead but failed to finish when one-on-one with Nishikawa.
City will face Fluminense in the final, scheduled for Friday (22), at 15:00 (Brasília time).
Written by Henry Miller.
