Al-Hilal Through to Club World Cup Last 16 with 2-0 Win over Pachuca
Saudi powerhouse Al-Hilal advanced to the FIFA Club World Cup knockout stage after defeating Pachuca of Mexico 2-0 in the final round of Group H at the Geodis Park stadium in Nashville on Friday.
Captain Salem Al-Dawsari opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with an exquisite finish over Pachuca's goalkeeper Sebastian Jurado, while Brazilian hitman Marcos Leonardo sealed the victory with a goal in the fifth minute of injury time, rounding the keeper.
With this win, Al-Hilal moved to second place in the group, earning five points, trailing behind leaders Real Madrid, who beat RB Salzburg 3-0, and are just one point ahead of the Austrian team, while Pachuca remain winless at the bottom of the group, with no points.
Al-Hilal, the only team from outside Europe and the Americas to advance from the group stage, will face English Premier League giants Manchester City in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday. Disallowed goal and Al-Dawsari's Exquisite Finish
Al-Hilal started the match on the front foot, dominating possession early on, with midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic nearly put his side ahead with a powerful strike after five minutes. However, referee Danny Makkelie disallowed the goal due to an aggressive challenge in the build-up.
The breakthrough arrived in the 22nd minute when Nasser Al-Dawsari delivered a precision pass. Salem Al-Dawsari, fresh from last season's 30 Saudi Pro League goals, lifted the ball over goalkeeper Sebastian Jurado.
Al-Hilal nearly doubled their lead nine minutes before halftime. However, Marcos Leonardo, who scored 17 goals last season, headed the ball over the bar from close range. Second Half and Late Goal
Pachuca showed some improvement in the second half and tested Al-Hilal's goalkeeper Yassine Bounou in the 56th minute. Bounou, who had saved a 92nd-minute penalty from Federico Valverde in Al-Hilal's group opener against Real Madrid, did well to save Salomon Rondon's powerful shot on the second attempt.
Despite making four substitutions, Pachuca failed to trouble Bounou for the rest of the match, with Al-Hilal seeming content to maintain possession and see out the game.
However, Al-Hilal added a second goal deep into stoppage time after Marcos Leonardo timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap, received a pass from Ruben Neves, rounded the goalkeeper Sebastian Jurado, and scored into an empty net.
The victory sets up an exciting quarterfinal match against Manchester City, who have a perfect record in the tournament, with the winner of that match will face either Inter Milan or Fluminense in the semifinals.
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Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
5 things we learned from Al-Hilal's FIFA Club World Cup win over CF Pachuca
NASHVILLE: Al-Hilal held their composure to defeat CF Pachuca of Mexico 2-0 in Nashville and book their place in the FIFA Club World Cup Round of 16. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport The hard-fought victory means coach Simone Inzaghi's side are the only team from Asia, Africa and Oceania to progress in the 32-team tournament. The Riyadh club will now meet Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City in Orlando on Monday. Defense holds strong CF Pachuca started the match the better side, with former Newcastle United striker Salomon Rondon threatening to stretch the Al-Hilal defense early on. Hassan Al-Tambakti, the Saudi center-back who was a doubt after limping off against Red Bull Salzburg, put a confident display, stepping in twice in the opening 15 minutes when Rondon looked like he would test Yassine Bounou. Of the three games Al-Hilal have played in the US this month, this match in 'Music City' was — somewhat ironically given his nickname — Bono's quietest. Pachuca managed 12 shots, but only two hit the target; both were central and neither worried the Moroccan, even if he did seem to give Rondon a sniff of a follow-up in the first half. Pachuca, the reigning Concacaf champions, had scored in both their previous matches against Salzburg and Real Madrid, yet never came close here. Every great team is built on a solid defense and Inzaghi, now with two successive clean sheets, certainly seems to have organized his backline. Al-Dawsari does it again Dressed all in white in the land of the 'Man in Black' — country star Johnny Cash — the Blues soon found their rhythm. They settled into the match with the help of captain Salem Al-Dawsari, who raised the heart rate of right-back Eduardo Bauermann as well as the noise levels inside GEODIS Park during a busy first half. Intent on driving at his Brazilian full-back, Al-Dawsari showed speed and trickery every time he touched the ball, to the delight of the 14,147 fans. His moment came in the 22nd minute. Nasser Al-Dawsari noticed his captain running in behind and lofted the ball forwards. Salem still had much to do, but he is not a player who struggles in high-pressure moments. The Saudi flyer needed just one touch to compose himself, before lifting the ball high and over Pachuca goalkeeper Sebastian Jurado. As the ball hung in the air so did a silence, but Al-Dawsari knew it was going in and reeled off to celebrate his 27th goal of the season with the customary cartwheel and backflip. 'Al-Hilal has been working well since last season and we believe we are on the right track,' he told the media. 'Our organization does not change just because the coach changes or a player leaves or arrives. Al-Hilal is built by many, many people — that is the secret of our continuity. Tonight we will celebrate, but tomorrow the focus switches to the next match.' Misfiring Marcos Leonardo For 95 minutes it looked like Brazilian striker Marcos Leonardo would rue missed opportunities once again. The former Santos forward arrived at the Club World Cup having scored 26 times since joining Al-Hilal from Benfica last summer for $46.8m (€40m) and came close against both Madrid and Salzburg. Ultimately, he fumbled at the crucial moments — and it seemed more of the same against Pachuca, until the dying minutes. Lovely first-half play out from the back led to Malcom feeding the 22-year-old, but he had strayed offside. Later, Al-Hilal's No. 11 saw his header flash high and wide. As the match wore on, with nerves building and Pachuca pushing for an equalizer, Malcom picked his compatriot out again. He did well to chip it over the onrushing Jurado but failed to get enough power in the shot and the covering Bauermann cleared comfortably. With the match into the last of six additional minutes, however, Leonardo finally scored after collecting a long ball forward, rounding the Pachuca goalkeeper, and rolling it into an empty net. His own celebrations were muted, his team's ecstatic. The hope is this will give the Brazilian confidence going into the match against Manchester City, when chances will surely be slim. Mission accomplished, for now Inzaghi spoke of his 'great satisfaction' and revealed his target at the start of the month was to reach the Round of 16 — which his side has achieved. However, club president Fahad bin Nafel, speaking to Arab news, is now looking deeper into the expanded tournament. 'We are the only Arab club, the only Asian club, to progress to the Round of 16, so we are very proud of what we have achieved tonight,' he said. 'We are a great team with great players, great technical team and management. I am really supportive. That is our job — to fully support them, so they can push on and continue these great achievements and, inshallah, win the next game too.' Blue Wave in high spirits The Blue Wave swept through GEODIS Park on Thursday night. Nerves coursed through the concourse pre-match, while sheer joy was on display afterwards. Some Saudi fans paired cowboy hats with kanduras, while others draped the Kingdom's flag over their shoulders and danced in jubilation. The Saudi spectators may have been outnumbered by their Mexican opposites, but they were rarely outdone in terms of noise. As the Al-Hilal players headed down the tunnel after a short on-field celebration, a mass of blue fans gathered under the stands to savor the moment, wave their scarves and sing club songs. 'Bring on City! Bring on City,' they chanted. The Al-Hilal faithful, having traveled from Miami to Washington to Nashville, will now go to Orlando. They have proved both popular and respectful, posing for photos with other teams' fans and enjoying the chance to bring Saudi soccer culture to a wider audience. The victory against a team already eliminated allowed them to celebrate with no possibility of perceived antagonism. Their hope is that this victory, historic though it is, is not yet the highlight of their US road trip.
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
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Al Hilal Advances to Club World Cup Round of 16 With 2-0 Win Over Pachuca
Salem Aldawsari scored in the 22nd minute, and Al-Hilal beat Pachuca 2–0 on Thursday night to clinch a berth in the Club World Cup round of 16. Marcus Leonardo also scored for Al-Hilal, the only team outside Europe and the Americas to advance out of group play. Al-Hilal will next face English club Manchester City on Monday in Orlando, Florida. Aldawsari, attacking from the left, scored with the ball bouncing off his right foot and soaring over the head of Pachuca goalie Sebastian Jurado to the right side of the goal. The game drew 14,147 to Geodis Park, which has a capacity of 30,000. Key Moment: As Pachuca kept trying to keep the pace up, Leonardo scored his first goal of the tournament in the last minute of extra time, dribbling swiftly past Jurado and sending a left-footed shot in to secure Al-Hilal's spot in the round of 16. Takeaways: Al-Hilal is the second team from Group H to move on, as Real Madrid clinched through a 3–0 victory against RB Salzburg. Pachuca ended the tournament winless. What They Said: 'These are not easy games, and we are in the Club World Cup, so every team that is here, they have potential. It was a hard game…so clean sheet and the win, and we are through. That's the most important.' – Ruben Neves of Al-Hilal 'Every player wants to score. My goal was ambitious, and scoring was the cherry on top.' – Salem Aldawsari of Al-Hilal
Al Arabiya
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Vinícius Júnior Scores and Assists in Real Madrid's 3-0 Win Over Salzburg to Advance in CWC
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