Fluminense Beat Al Hilal To Reach Club World Cup Semis
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Substitute Hercules struck a 70th-minute winner as Brazil\u2019s Fluminense defeated Saudi Arabia\u2019s Al Hilal 2-1 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Club World Cup.<\/strong><\/p>\n A fine left-foot finish from Matheus Martinelli had put the Rio club ahead in the 40th minute but Al Hilal\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Rio club Fluminense could yet face an all-Brazilian semi-final if their rivals from Sao Paulo, Palmeiras, are able to overcome Premier League Chelsea in Friday\u2019s other quarter-final.<\/p>\n Al Hilal had pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, beating Manchester City 4-3, to reach the last eight and Simone Inzaghi\u2019s side fought hard until the end to keep their adventure alive.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n There was a moment\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Al Hilal\u2019s line-up featured two of Jota\u2019s Portugal team-mates in Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo.<\/p>\n The first half was a tight and tactical affair with few chances until Martinelli opened the scoring when he picked the Ball <\/a>up from Gabriel Fuentes inside the box and span out to give himself space for a left-foot shot that rocketed past Yassine Bounou.<\/p>\n Al Hilal went close to a quick response when Kalidou Koulibaly\u2019s header forced Fluminense\u2019s 44-year-old goalkeeper Fabio into a fine save.<\/p>\n The Saudi side were awarded a penalty when Samuel Xavier was ruled to have brought down Marcos Leonardo in the box but Dutch referee Danny Makkelie was eventually sent to the monitor where he overturned his own decision after seeing there had been no contact between the two players.<\/p>\n After going in at the break trailing by a goal, Al Hilal came out strongly for the second half and drew level when Koulibaly headed a Neves corner down to Marcos Leonardo who poked home.<\/p>\n Al Hilal\u2019s Brazilian full back Renan Lodi had a let off when his poor backpass fell straight at the feet of German Cano but the Fluminense striker\u2019s attempt to round Bounou was denied by the smart work of the Moroccan keeper.<\/p>\n But the outcome was settled with 20 minutes remaining when half-time sub Hercules saw a shot from distance blocked but from the loose Ball <\/a>Samuel headed the Ball <\/a>back to the forward who raced into the box and fired past Bounou to make it 2-1.<\/p>\n Al Hilal produced a flurry of corners and some intense pressure in the final minutes as they desperately sought a way to keep their dream alive but the Brazilians were good value for their victory.<\/p>\n