Fluminense and Al-Hilal star in a surprise duel in the Club World Cup quarterfinals

Fluminense and Al-Hilal will face off in the most surprising quarter-final clash of the Club World Cup this Friday at 4pm (Brasília time) in Orlando. In a tournament that has won over fans with unusual duels, this time the "random match" is for being among the four best in the competition and one step away from the final.

Neither team qualified for the round of 16 in first place in their group. Fluminense finished behind Borussia Dortmund, while Al-Hilal saw Real Madrid take the lead. Then, each team faced European giants and recent Champions League finalists as opponents. Inter Milan are currently runners-up, the same performance they had in 2022/23, when they lost to Manchester City.

Renato Gaúcho's Fluminense set up an Italian-style defense to hold off Inter. The strategy is unlikely to be the same for the match against Al-Hilal, even though the Saudi team has stars who were only recently playing at the highest level of world football.

This is because Renato planned the game against Inter to mirror the Italians. The Saudi team, although they prioritized defending to beat Manchester City 4-3, do not play with three defenders. Fluminense tends to return to the formation they have been using.

"My daughter came to the hotel so we could go out for dinner and I said no, that I was going to watch our future opponent (Inter) play. I thought carefully about the formation we were going to use and, in my head, the best formation would be with three defenders, to mirror their team", explained the coach, revealing his studious side after the victory.

Still, the coach highlights Fluminense's ability to know the right time to attack. "My team knew how to defend, how to suffer and at the right time we killed the game. It's a team that knows what to do on the field," he said.

Soteldo is a player who could be a new addition to the game. The Venezuelan, signed by Fluminense a few days before the start of the World Cup, has yet to make his debut due to a muscle injury.

Renê, suspended for two yellow cards, is out. Nonato, Martinelli, Arias, Keno and coach Renato are suspended. If any of them are cautioned with a card, they will be out of the semifinals. Only in the next phase, the cards are reset so that a possible suspension for two yellow cards does not take anyone out of the final.

The victory over City put Saudi football back in the spotlight. Those who have been playing in the country for a few seasons emphasized that the level of play is growing. "We wanted to show that Al-Hilal have the talent and the power to be here," said former Napoli and Chelsea defender Koulibaly.

Former Santos player Marcos Leonardo shares the World Cup top scorer's award with 12 other players, all with three goals each. He and Malcom, in addition to Renan Lodi, are the Brazilians who have played for Al-Hilal in this era. The squad also includes Kaio César.

The Brazilian players on the team carry on a legacy started by Rivelino, who went to Saudi Arabia in 1978 under Zagallo's command. It was three seasons before the star retired.

The midfielder's success led the club to invest in Brazilians. Since then, three dozen Brazilian players have been selected and 20 coaches have been hired. The first was Paulo Amaral, the physical trainer for the 1958 World Cup-winning team and who went on to manage Juventus in Italy.

TECHNICAL SHEET

FLUMINENSE X AL-HILAL

FLUMINENSE - Fabio; Samuel Xavier, Thiago Silva, Ignacio and Fuentes; Martinelli and Hercules; Canobbio, Nonato and Jhon Arias; German Cano. Coach: Renato Gaucho.

AL-HILAL - Bono; João Cancelo, Al-Harbi, Koulibaly and Renan Lodi; Nasser Al-Dawsari, Ruben Neves and Milinkovic-Savic; Malcom, Marcos Leonardo and Kanno. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

REFEREE - Danny Desmond Makkelie (HOL).

TIME - 4pm (Brasília time).

LOCATION - Camping World, in Orlando, Florida.

WHERE TO WATCH - Globo (open TV), SporTV (closed TV), CazéTV (YouTube), Amazon PrimeVideo and DAZN (streaming).