Fluminense – Al-Hilal Riyadh

Fluminense cannot be considered an outsider in the pairing

The quarter-final of the Club World Cup between Fluminense and Al Hilal will take place on Friday, 4 July. It's a pairing definitely not expected at this late stage. Any semi-finalist is a sensation. Both teams surprised greatly in the 1/8 finals, knocking out the European grandees. Fluminense is the most disciplined Brazilian team at the tournament. The club plays quite pragmatically. For example, Flu were not ashamed to keep the score 0-0 against Mamelodi in the group stage. They also agreed to a draw against Borussia. With Inter, the team was helped a lot by a quick goal. From there it was already easier to act in the second number. In attack, the key factor for Fluminense is the skill of John Arias. The Colombian is having an outstanding tournament. He organised the winning goal against Inter. It is very likely that Arias will be taken to Europe after the Club World Cup. In defence, Fluminense have Tiago Silva back. The team was not without luck, but defended the goal intact. It cannot be said that Inter had a lot of chances, although the club did score one goal. The Xg was 1.27 vs. 1.16 in favour of the Italians, but this is definitely not a defensive failure of the Brazilians. It is the Fluminense defence that has been impressive in the tournament as a whole. The team conceded only in the game with Korean Ulsan. Al-Hilal proved their worth against the European grandees. The Saudis were able to hold out against Real Madrid and performed a miracle in the 1/8 finals. Simone Inzaghi's new team scored four goals against Manchester City - a historic feat. We can say that the mission for the tournament has already been fulfilled. Al-Hilal is dragging in the late stages, above all goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. The goalkeeper deflected 11 shots on goal in 120 minutes. He also finished the match despite an injury. Prior to that, Bounou managed to deflect a penalty in the end of the match against Real Madrid. Now in the line Al-Hilal is mysteriously put as the favourite. That said, the Saudi club still did not show a dominant game. Not everything was unequivocal even against modest Pachuca. With Salzburg, the Saudis did not achieve a victory. Let's not forget the fatigue factor: Al-Hilal had less time to rest, the team spent 120 minutes on the pitch. Fluminense uses an organised defensive scheme. It is unlikely that Al-Hilal will be able to dominate. The team will have to possess the ball and play relatively high. At least in a match like this, the opponents have equal chances. There is also the factor of uncertainty on Boon. It is possible that the injury will affect the goalkeeper's capabilities. It is logical to expect a cautious game, where everything can be decided by one goal. A low-scoring win for Floo is a realistic scenario.