Al Hilal defeats City and leaves Guardiola's team out of the World Cup.

Increasingly influential in the geopolitics of football, Saudi Arabia, a FIFA ally of Gianni Infantino, financially instrumental in the realization of this Club World Cup, with a stake in DAZN—the platform that allows free streaming—and the sole organizer of the 2034 World Cup for national teams, demonstrated on Monday night in Orlando that it also wants to make a name for itself in football.

By winning 2-1 in their Qatar 2022 opener over eventual World Cup winners Argentina, Al Hilal produced one of the most stunning results in modern club football history, at least in the 21st century. Simone Inzaghi's side beat Manchester City 4-3 in extra time, having drawn 2-2 after 90 minutes, to eliminate Pep Guardiola's side from the round of 16 of FIFA 's newest toy.

The winner of the Club World Cup's best match so far will play on Friday in the quarterfinals against Fluminense, who also defeated Inter Milan on Monday, in a dark day for the Champions League representatives. At least one semifinalist from South America or Asia will be in the mix. For Inzaghi, who made his debut for Al Hilal in this World Cup after arriving from Inter Milan, the 4-3 victory represents a kind of revenge against Guardiola, his executioner in the 2023 Champions League final, won by City. In any case, the Italian coach already had another historic 4-3 victory a few weeks ago in the Champions League semifinal—still with Inter Milan—against Barcelona.

Just as Manchester City was an English club that started the match without a single British player, Al Hilal revealed itself as a team driven by a diverse force: Italian discipline under Inzaghi, the experience of players with extensive European experience, young Brazilian talent, and Saudi culture. In particular, they included a Moroccan goalkeeper recognized throughout the football world, Bono; a defensive leader with a past at Napoli and Chelsea, Kalidou Koulibaly ; three Brazilians on different lines—Renan Lodi in defense and Malcom and Marcos Leonardo in attack; a Serbian midfielder with extensive experience in Italy, Sergej Milinkovic Savic; and a local captain, Mohamed Kanno, with two World Cup titles for Saudi Arabia.

If City arrived as the only team with three wins in the first phase, sealed by the 5-2 victory over Juventus' reserves, Bernardo Silva's 1-0 goal in the 11th minute seemed to settle what had been assumed to be a formality. Al Hilal, moreover, had every right to complain about an injustice. The goal came from a high-speed run by Rayan Aït Nour, a deflection off Saudi defenders, and the Portuguese's opportunistic approach, but also from the poor positioning of Venezuelan referee Jesús Valenzuela and, in particular, the blindness of the VAR (Vocalist referee) in charge of another compatriot, Juan Soto: The Algerian full-back, one of Guardiola's reinforcements, had positioned the ball with his arm.

But with the lead, Manchester City began to show its two faces: an ambivalence comprised of an offensive fluidity that multiplied their chances and a defensive weakness that unexpectedly began to give Al Hilal opportunities, especially on the Aït Nour flank. It's true that Bono, at 34, showed his continued presence in the first half and kept the Saudis in the game when City could have gone into the break with a commanding lead: these were the minutes in which Jeremy Doku was able to run wherever he wanted and İlkay Gündoğan was able to run into the opponent's box as if it were his living room. And yet, Guardiola's team came out disengaged after the break, with a lack of tension.

Two Brazilians, Malcom, the former Barcelona striker (now 28), and Marcos Leonardo, with a past at Santos and Benfica (now 22), took advantage of City's defensive gifts, particularly one from Ederson, and the Saudis went 2-1 up seven minutes into the second half. Things were getting serious, and Guardiola made his first substitutions: Rodri, Nathan Aké, and Manuel Akanji came on for Gundogan, Josko Gvardiol, and Matheus Nunes. Erling Haaland then equalized, making it 2-2, but he wouldn't change them for the rest of the second half. The 90-minute equalizer seemed like a major upset, and yet the most unexpected was yet to come.

It was assumed that, in extra time, Al Hilal would no longer be able to withstand the physical strain of an opponent who constantly brought on world-class players. It was Rayan Cherki and Omar Marmoush's turn, and the Saudi resistance seemed to be crumbling, but Lodi created a corner in the middle of the desert, Koulibaly headed it between Ruben Díaz and Aké, and Al Hilal made it 3-2. It didn't last long either, because Phil Foden, replacing Rodri, scored to make it 3-3, with Bono's only error.

Logic dictated penalties or a City win, and yet the 4-3 came through Marcos Leonardo's second personal goal, the night Saudi Arabia entered the football world thanks to its sporting merits, Brazilian goals, Italian discipline, and Saudi pride. City's elimination confirmed its title-less season.