Fluminense edges Al Hilal into Club World Cup semifinal

German Cano (front) of Fluminense FC celebrates after the quarterfinal match between Fluminense FC of Brazil and Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 at the Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida, the United States, July 4 , 2025. [Xinhua/Xu Chang]

Hercules scored the winner as Fluminense beat Al Hilal 2-1 in the FIFA Club World Cup in Orlando, Florida, the United States on Friday, securing a place for the Brazilian side in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals.

Fluminense broke the deadlock in the 40th minute, when Matheus Martinelli curled the ball into the top far corner, assisted by Gabriel Fuentes.

Al Hilal was awarded a penalty in the stoppage time of the first half after a tangle of legs, but the referee's decision was revoked by VAR for "no foul".

The Saudi side found the equalizer in the 51st minute as Kalidou Koulibaly headed the ball into the goal area, allowing Marcos Leonardo to score his fourth goal of the tournament.

However, Al Hilal failed to repeat their comeback victory over Manchester City once again, Fluminense re-took the lead in the 70th minute, after Hercules netted with a powerful right-footed shot.

In the last 15 minutes, Al Hilal players constantly fell down in the box and asked for penalty. But they couldn't convince the referee and Koulibaly was shown a yellow card for diving.

In the mixed zone, Koulibaly spoke with confusion. "We did everything to win. Fluminense played very well defensively. I don't understand [referee's decision]. I think everyone saw it, but I don't know why the referee didn't go to check the VAR for me [in the second half]."

"Sometimes we want to accept everything, but when you lose like this, I think it was a shame, because it was the chance of our life. I think the referee didn't do his job," Koulibaly added. "If you check the VAR in the first half, you should check it in the second half."

Al Hilal coach Simone Inzaghi said it had been unfortunate for his team to lose. "It has been a good World Cup for us, but clearly we leave with a little bit of a bitter taste in our mouth because after what happened in that second half, we deserved much more," he said.

Fluminense coach Renato Gaucho said their fans can be proud for wearing a jersey in the street. "We didn't have many chances, but we made the most of them, the entire group worked and were committed."

Fluminense is set to play against the winner between Chelsea and Palmeiras in the semifinal on Tuesday.