Fluminense Stuns Al Hilal 2-1 to Advance in FIFA Club World Cup

When Fluminense scored twice in the first half and held off a relentless Al Hilal side in the second, few expected the Brazilian club to advance — but they did, 2-1, in front of 43,091 fans at the Citrus Bowl on July 4, 2025. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t even close to dominant. But it was enough. And in football, sometimes that’s all you need.

How Fluminense Won Against the Odds

Fluminense didn’t control the ball. They didn’t dominate possession — just 42.5% to Al Hilal’s 57.5%. They didn’t fire off shots — 10 to Al Hilal’s 15. They didn’t earn corners — 4 to Al Hilal’s 12. Yet they won. How? Discipline, aerial dominance, and clinical finishing.

Martinelli (listed as M Santos Almeida by Sky Sports) opened the scoring in the 40th minute with a low drive from the edge of the box. It was Fluminense’s first real chance. Then, after Marcos Leonardo (M Lima) equalized for Al Hilal in the 51st minute with a sharp finish, the game seemed poised for extra time. But in the 70th minute, Hercules (H Pereira do Nascimento) rose above three defenders to head home from a corner, silencing the Saudi contingent and sending the Fluminense bench into pandemonium.

What stood out wasn’t the stats — it was the moments. Fluminense won 63.2% of aerial duels. Al Hilal had 12 corners. Fluminense’s goalkeeper made three crucial saves. Al Hilal’s defense, usually rock-solid, cracked under pressure when it mattered most.

The Numbers That Didn’t Tell the Whole Story

Al Hilal had every statistical advantage. Their passing accuracy was higher (88.7% vs. 84.9%). Their tackle success rate was nearly double (57.9% vs. 35.3%). They created two clear-cut chances to Fluminense’s one. They outworked, outpassed, out-possessed. And still, they lost.

Why? Because football isn’t played in spreadsheets. It’s played in the head. And Fluminense, despite being underdogs on paper, played like they belonged on the biggest stage. Their discipline was remarkable. Just three yellow cards. No reds. Only 13 fouls committed — and they won nine of them. They didn’t panic when Al Hilal poured forward. They absorbed, countered, and capitalized.

Al Hilal, meanwhile, looked increasingly frustrated. Their 12 corners meant nothing because Fluminense’s defenders — particularly center-back Thiago Silva (though not mentioned in stats, his leadership was visible) — won every key header. The Saudis had 7 blocked shots. Fluminense had 4. But only Fluminense’s shots mattered.

What This Means for Global Football

This wasn’t just a quarter-final. It was a statement. A Brazilian club, representing South America’s most passionate football culture, defeated a Saudi powerhouse that had just knocked out Manchester City in the Round of 16. That win over City — a 4-3 thriller on July 1 — had been hailed as Al Hilal’s breakthrough on the world stage. Now, it’s just a footnote.

For Fluminense, this is their deepest run in the Club World Cup since 2007. They’ve won 13 of their last 20 matches. Al Hilal, by contrast, had won zero away games in this tournament, according to SoccerPunter. That trend held. And now, the gap between global football’s traditional powers and its rising ones is shrinking — not just in investment, but in execution.

The match also marked the first-ever competitive meeting between the two clubs. Fluminense has never lost to Al Hilal — and now, they’ve won it outright, in front of a crowd that included fans from across Latin America, the Middle East, and beyond. This was global football at its most unpredictable.

What’s Next for Both Teams?

Fluminense advances to the semi-finals of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, where they’ll face either Real Madrid or a surprise contender from the other half of the bracket. Their path is daunting, but they’ve already proven they can outthink stronger opponents.

For Al Hilal, the tournament ends in disappointment. Their summer surge — including wins over Pachuca and Manchester City — now feels like a mirage. They’ll return to Saudi Arabia with questions: Why couldn’t they close out the game? Why did their dominance yield so little? And how do they translate domestic success into international glory?

One thing’s clear: the Club World Cup isn’t just about money anymore. It’s about heart. And on July 4, Fluminense had more of it.