ORLANDO, FLORIDA - JULY 04: Hercules of Fluminense celebrates his goal during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 quarter final match between Fluminense FC and Al Hilal at Camping World Stadium on July 04, 2025 in Orlando, Florida.

Fluminense beat Al-Hilal to reach Club World Cup semifinals

11 months ago
Image Photo Agency / Getty Images Sport / Getty

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Hercules came off the bench and scored in the 70th minute to lift Fluminense past Al-Hilal 2-1 in a Club World Cup quarterfinal match on Friday.

Physical play resulted in a pair of yellow cards against both sides as they vied for scoring chances in the first half in front of a crowd of 43,091 at Camping World Stadium.

Fluminense struck first after a poor clearance from Al-Hilal allowed Brazillian midfielder Martinelli to find the back of the net.

The second half opened with an emphatic response from Al-Hilal, which had not lost a match in the tournament. Marcos Leonardo, who scored the winner in a 4-3 surprise victory over Manchester City, scored in the 51st minute to tie the game at 1.

Hercules, a halftime substitution, scored the tiebreaker and secured a semifinal round berth for Fluminense.

Key moment

Al-Hilal was awarded a penalty kick in the first half, but head referee Danny Makkelie overturned the decision after consulting VAR.

Takeaways

Fluminense moves on to the semifinal against the winner of the Chelsea-Palmerias match later Friday at Philadelphia. The semifinal match will be held Tuesday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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