Fluminense - Al Ahly summary: score, goals & highlights | Club World Cup 2023 semi-final
Fluminense - Al Ahly: as it happened
Full-time thoughts:
After a dramatic game full of chances that could have gone either way, it is Fluminense who are through to the Club World Cup final.
Around half time we said that it would be either a set piece, a moment of magic or a mistake that changed the course of the game, and that's exactly what happened: Marcelo was brought down in the box to give Jhon Arias the chance to slot home from the spot, which he did.
The Brazilian team looked the livelier side after the break and restricted their African opponents to counter attacks which were repeatedly saved by the brilliant Fábio, who could well be my pick for MVP.
The second goal game from substitute John Kennedy, who took advantage of the tired legs from Al Ahly to skip past a challenge in the box before slotting past El Shenawy to send the Flu fans behind the goal into delirium.
Fluminense will play the winner of Urawa Reds vs Manchester City in the final. You can follow the second semi-final live on AS.
That's all, folks!
Let's leave it there! Thanks for following the coverage of the game and make sure you come back tomorrow for Manchester City's semi-final against Urawa Reds!
Joe
FLUMINENSE ARE THROUGH TO THE CLUB WORLD CUP FINAL
The Brazilian side will play either Urawa Reds or Manchester City in the Club World Cup final!
We're into the final 60 seconds.
Fábio gets a goal kick as the clock ticks on... he won't be in a rush to take this one, you'd imagine.
El Shenawy gets down low and puts out a strong hand to stop Cano's shot from sneaking into the far corner.
John Kennedy has given his team a breath of fresh air in the closing stages. He is full to the brim of energy and fun and smiles - he's probably thinking about bunny rabbits and chocolate biscuits when he's playing football. Pure delight.
A fabulous slide tackle from Abdelmonem stops Kennedy from getting in behind again.
8 added minutes.
Rabia & El Solia ON
Ashour & Attia OFF
The South Americans win the ball back high up the pitch with Martinelli He plays the ball to the right where Kennedy controls with his right, tucks inside and slides a calm finish into the far corner with his left boot.
Fouad strikes at goal form the edge of the box and Fábio, who has been superb today, let's the ball smack his open palms before bobbling on the ground.
Kennedy fires from distance and he chooses the wrong option, watching his missile fly wide of the target.
EL SHENAWY SAVES FROM CANO
Fluminense break and John Kennedy sets Cano on his way. The striker goes for a chip over the goalkeeper but the huge frame of the Egyptian stops the ball bobbling into the net!
Flu just got a bit sloppy there and played a few mistimed passes as they built up from the back. Diniz on the touchline is now going absolutely crazy at them.
Nino wins a free-kick after Fouad leaves a leg in on the defender. There are plenty of tired legs out there.
Guga ON
Xavier OFF
Maaloul's corner is shocking and it swings in before flying over everybody in the box and landing close to the stands behind the goal.
Al Ahly are pushing and have won a corner after some good pressure. Less than 10 to go...
No, John Kennedy's middle name does not begin with F. His full name is actually John Kennedy Batista de Souza. Sorry for being a dream crusher.
Barbosa, Lima, John Kennedy ON
Marcelo, Ganso, Kano OFF
Keno is down with what looks like cramp.
CHANCE FOR AL AHLY
Mohamed can't get on the ball from Maaloul and it trickles into the grateful grasp of Fábio. Another chance goes begging for the Africans...
There was a slight delay there due to a confusion with Fluminense's changes: for now we've just got one substitute but Barbosa is waiting on the sideline.
Marlon ON
Melo OFF
Mohamed, Afsha & Fouad ON
Kahraba, Tau, Tawfik OFF
Kahraba wants a penalty as he goes down under a challenge from Nino. Referee says no.
WHAT A CHANCE FOR PERCY TAU!!!!
The ball from El Shahat was one of the best I've ever seen: it sailed over the top of everyone and landed on the head of Percy Tau who was just a yard from goal - but his header landed in the hands of Fábio!
Al Ahly have less than 20 minutes to find a way through...
Back underway...
A hard spot kick, driven low to the goalkeeper's right. Unstoppable!
But it looks like Jhon Arias has the honour.
He steps up...
It's Felipe Melo with the ball in his hands...
Abdelmonem is booked for arguing and being a naughty boy.
Marcelo is taken down by Percy Tau as he slips the ball through his legs on the left side of the box. And the referee has given the spot kick!
PENALTY TO FLUMINENSE
Kahrahba gets the ball as he spins on halfway an immediately fires a searching pass out to the left wing... but it's Percy Tau on the right who is free. The fans groan around the ground and the striker raises a hand in apology at wasting the fabulous chance to counter.
Hany brings down Keno as the winger slips inside before driving towards goal. The game is so finely in the balance, I sense it will either be a moment of brilliance or a lapse in concentration that breaks the deadlock.
BIG SAVE FROM FÁBIO
Al Ahly break and Tau opens to El Shahat on the left: the winger races into the box, cuts inside and cracks a low effort at Fábio which is well saved.
CHANCE FOR AL AHLY
Mello heads behind after a dangerous cross is fired in from the left wing towards goal.
69% - 21% is the possession count for the last 10 minutes, a stat that highlight the dominance of Fluminense since we returned for the second half.
Marcelo, who pops up on the right wing (it's Marcelo, what are we going to do), takes a touch inside and lashes a driven effort towards goal that is deflected out for a corner.
CHANCE FOR AL AHLY
Kahraba and Ah Ahly break at pace: the ball is slid through to the striker who gets a boot behind the ball, but the power is not there and Fábio catches the weak shot.
CHANCE FOR FLUMINENSE
Xavier links up with Ganso who opens wide to Cano on the right. The striker steadies himself and fires a low drive that flashes past goal!
Fluminense have come out of the dressing room with their heads well screwed on: Al Ahly are back inside their own defensive third as the South Americans pin them back and pass around the edge of the box.
Arias tries his luck from distance but his shot is always spinning high and wide.
The first five minutes have seen Flu keep the ball around half-way, only losing it after Hany goes in hard on Marcelo and ends up hurting himself.
The Brazilian side are keeping the ball in the opening stages, trying to draw out their opponents from their defensive third.
Second half underway!
Fluminense get the ball rolling...
Ready to go!
Here come the teams for the second half!
My reaction at seeing the Fábio save
It was a delightful stop from the Flu goalkeeper, but I still believe that Kahraba should have put the ball either side of him from such close range...
Half-time thoughts:
What an enjoyable 45 minutes of football. Both sides have really gone out to win the game and both goalkeepers have been needed to keep the scoreline level.
The best chance of the game came for Kharaba, who really should have scored after half an hour with a simple header from a few yards out that he managed to put in Fábio's path.
As for Fluminense, it's been Keno at the heart of everything fun they've been doing, but Jhon Arias has seen his shots hit the post on two separate occasions, so he will no doubt feel hard done by in Jeddah.
Half-time!
It's been a fantastically entertaining first half that only lacks a goal!
Germán Cano gets in behind the defence but the flag is raised...
2 added minutes.
Martinelli is booked for a high arm into the face of Ashour.
We're into the final minute of normal time.
Keno hits a wild volley high and wide from the edge of the box. A real waste...
The Egyptian fans are certainly feeling the momentum shift after Flu's positive spell and the noise levels have just increased as we enter the final 5.
Al Ahly have Fluminense pinned into their own box as all 11 players take their turn at shaping up to shoot on goal.
CHANCE FOR AL AHLY
Some nice possession from Fluminense sees Al Ahly chase and eventually win the ball. The Africans counter and El Shahat's shot is blocked by André.
Kahraba must have said some naughty words there - how on Earth did he miss?
The forward got on the end of El Shahat's deflected shot and was one yard from goal when his head met the ball - somehow he managed to put it right within the goalkeeper's reach.
WHAT A SAVE FROM FÁBIO!!!!
Abdelmonem gets a vital head on the cross towards Cano at the far post, sending the ball out for a corner to the South Americans.
Flu's possession on halfway is trying to draw Al Ahly out but the opposition are holding firm.
Keno leaves a foot in and Tawfik goes to ground in his own half. Fluminense's attack is halted.
Half an hour gone and it's been quite even so far...
A couple of mistakes from the Brazilians have just reminded them that the Egyptians are indeed a threat in this game...
CHANCE FOR AL AHLY
Melo misses a header and allows Percy tau in behind. He plays behind to El Shahat, whose shot/cross flies out of the other side of the pitch.
CHANCE FOR AL AHLY
The Egyptians counter and El Shahat drives forward, twisting and turning like a lost monk in a Pyramid, before firing towards goal and seeing his shot blocked by André.
Arias is brought down by Tawfik: he missed the ball and clipped the player as he broke down the left wing. Free-kick to the Brazilians on the left.
The Brazilian side appear to be finally finding a grip on this game...
OFF THE POST FROM ARIAS AGAIN!
The same post again! Flu's corner is played across the floor to the edge of the box and the winger send a wicked shot that cracked off the right post for the second time tonight!
Arias goes to ground but there's no chance he's getting that. But the pass in between the lines from Cano was stunning and sliced through the Al Ahly defence like Darth Maul's double lightsaber.
Xavier's long ball over the top is almost met by Keno, but El Shenawy guessed that he could make it and he was quick off the mark to collect.
In other news...
I said that Al Ahly's kit was white earlier, but it's not. It's actually more of a blue-grey, the colour of steel or a non-aggressive rain cloud.
OFF THE LINE FROM AL AHLY
The corner was swung in and met by Kahraba, but it was Fábio (I think) who got the crucial touch to keep the scores level!
FELIPE MELO SAVES FLUMINENSE
Percy Tau was away and 1vs1 but Melo, aged 40, races back, reads the danger and slides in to crunch Tau and stop a certain goal!
Fluminense loose possession in their own half to El Shahat, who sees Fábio off his line and goes for the spectacular. But he's no Charlie Adams.
Germán Cano is a lucky boy not to get a yellow after he pulls back Hany in obvious fashion.
Al Ahly defend well as Fluminense launch a counter attack, switching the play from left to right once again. The Brazilians advance well but hit a brick wall in the shape of Abdelmonem, who tackles Keno with ease.
He looks OK to carry on and we're underway again.
Ibrahim is down after getting a cheeky elbow to the chest from Cano.
Ashour is fed the ball on the edge of the box and goes for glory but hisshot is spooned way over Fábio's goal.
Ashour does well down the left to skip past Martinelli and win a corner for his side.
OFF THE POST FROM ARIAS
Fantastic play from Flu: the ball is played from left to right by Keno and it's met by Arias, who crashes a volley off the upright!
El Shahat goes down inside the box and wants a penalty but the referee says 'no, sir'.
CHANCE FOR AL AHLY
Percy Tau hits a rocket effort from the right side of the box that is deflected and bounces dangerously on top of Fábio's goal.
It's a scrappy game breaking out in the middle third as both teams are compressed into a circular space of around 10 metres as though spacetime itself is bending round the centre circle.
Al Ahly trick us all (me), going short and working the ball down the left where it's crossed in. Fluminense clear but that was nicely done by the African outfit.
Felipe Melo brings down El Shahat close to halfway and the Africans will take their time before launching the ball into the box.
Germán Cano gets immediately in behind thanks to an Arias pass but the referee calls the forward offside.
And we're off!
It is indeed the African side who kick us off!
My eagle eyes spy that the African side have won the coin toss and will kick us off.
Here come the teams!
The 22 players walk out onto the pitch for the first of two semi-finals in the Club World Cup!
Here's a snap of the light show:
This is how things look as we wait on the players!
In case you're wondering...
There's the obligatory FIFA light show taking place just before we get going.
The players are in the tunnel!
Marcelo is smiling like a cheshire cat as his team make their way into the stadium tunnel ahead of kick-off.
Felipe Melo pre-game:
On how tough the game vs Al Ahly will be:
Very, very difficult. When I came here with Palmeiras, Al Ahly beat us in the third-place play-off. It was during the pandemic. We didn’t have much time to rest, get used to the time difference, but they’re a really strong team, really well coached. We’re preparing as much as possible for them and we’ll all have to be on our game to get through.
On Manchester City:
The best team in Europe for the last five years, despite not winning the Champions League [for the first four of them]. They’re experiencing something they’re not used to – they’re had a few bad results in the English league and are seeing Liverpool top of the table. But we know City’s potential. They have a great coach and a mix of strength, speed and technical ability. They have a really strong player up front [Erling Haaland] who’s always on the move.
A message to the Flu fans:
Firstly, I want to thank the Fluminense supporters. We’re living this dream together, and we’ll continue living this dream together. We’ll continue dreaming, prophesising what will happen and [at the stadium] we’ll fulfil it – us on the pitch and you in the stands. Everything you believe in is possible.
The stadium is filling!
The more hopeful Al Ittihad fans who had bought a semi-final ticket have, as you might expect, put them on resale. That means that the stadium is not quite full to the brim... just yet!
The PA announcer is reading out the starting XIs for each team...
And Marcelo's name certainly got the loudest cheer of them all! And that's considering that Al Ahly fans are clearly outnumbering their rival supporters by about 20 to 1!
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A late goal saw Urawa Reds sneak past Club León in a tense affair in Saudi Arabia, setting up a Club World Cup date with Manchester City.
Here's how the other game in the second round went: it was a tight tie between the two sides and in the end, a single goal was enough from Urawa Reds to send their hopeful Liga MX opponents packing.
Both teams are on the pitch!
The pre-game warmups have just started and the goalkeepers are being put through their paces!
Half an hour to go!
If you've just joined us then welcome along!
Here are the starting XIs:
Fluminense:
GK: Fábio
DEF: Marcelo - Nino - Melo - Xavier
MID: André - Martinelli - Ganso
ATT: Keno - Cano - Arias
Al Ahly:
GK: El Shenawy
DEF: Hany - Ibrahim - Abdelmonem - Maaloul
MID: Ashour - Attia -. Tawfik
ATT: Tau - Kahraba - Al Shahat
Associated Press/LaPresse / APS
What happens if the game ends in a draw?
If we're still level after 90 minutes of play then we will move to 30 minutes of extra-time to decide a winner. If, after those 30 minutes, the scores are still level, the penalty shootout will be used to decide who makes it to the Club World Cup final.
Suspensions for today's game:
Anthony Modeste, who came off the bench for Al Ahly in the second round game against Al Ittihad, will sit out the semi-final after his late sending off.
Emam Ashour, Hussein Elshahat and Kahraba are all just one booking away from missing Al Ahly’s next game.
Here's how the stadium looks ahead of kick-off
The photo was only taken a couple of minutes ago but I can assure you that things are getting a lot busier by the second!
Flu have arrived
The Copa Libertadores champions have arrived at the King Abdullah Sport City ahead of kick-off!
Marcelo to FIFA:
On getting this far with Fluminense after just 10 months:
I thought it was possible. But the dream was a little far away. At first we had the Campeonato Carioca, and soon after we were going to begin our Libertadores campaign. It was still very early. We had the dream when I arrived – or even before I did – of winning the Libertadores and competing in the Club World Cup. But at the start, being honest, we did think about it but it was a faraway dream.
Winning CWC with Real Madrid:
It was wonderful. Every club World Cup I won with Real Madrid has a different taste. I had the opportunity to participate in four editions and win four. Now it’s a special taste because I’m participating in the Club World Cup with my boyhood team.
On winning his fifth CWC:
Look, out of respect for our opponents, I never say before whatever competition. We have what it takes to compete in the Club World Cup, to play, to fight for the title, but we know there are other teams who want to win the Club World Cup. I can’t tell you whether we’ll win or not because we haven’t begun our Club World Cup campaign, but we have all our strengths, a lot of belief.
Playing as left-back behind Bale at Real Madrid:
Every game is different because we play against teams we’re not used to playing during the season. It’s always a different game from what we’re used to. [You’re always up against] different players with different characteristics. The players are used to playing in their countries, in their competitions, and it’s always something different. In that game I was able to provide two assists for Gareth, and I was really happy.
OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP
Who's the ref?
Szymon Marciniak is the man with the whistle today. He's a regular on the European stage with Champions League experience.
The 42-year-old from Poland was named "The World's Best Referee" by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).
We are going to be treated with the delightful Flu home shirt
One of the most iconic colourways in world football is about the grace the King Abdullah Sports City pitch tonight in Saudi Arabia as Flu are set to play in their stunning home kit.
Hussein Elshahat on Al Ahly's win over Al Ittihad:
We went into the match with respect for Al Ittihad’s capabilities, acknowledging them as a great club playing in front of their fans. They, too, showed respect for us, and that mutual respect was the key to success.
The coach Koller repeatedly emphasized to us, ‘You must respect them, they have great players, but you are also great players’.
This mindset created the difference. Also, our experience in this tournament – it’s our fourth participation in recent years – played a significant role in securing the victory.
AMR ABDALLAH DALSH / REUTERS
Where is the game being played?
King Abdullah Sports City, also called The Shining Jewel is todays' venue for the game. The multi-use sports city is 30 kilometers north of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's port city.
It holds 62,345 fans and was opened in 2014.
The Flu fans know how to make a noise!
They make their voices heard wherever they go and today in Saudi Arabia is going to be no different!
Al Ahly are set to wear their third kit:
It's a lovely white kit with red accents. I do love a white kit.
Predicted lineups:
Here's how we think both sides will line up in today's clash:
Fluminense possible starting lineup:
Fabio; Guga, Nino, Melo, Marcelo; Andre, Martinelli; Arias, Ganso, Keno; Cano
Al Ahly possible starting lineup:
El Shenawy; Hany, Ibrahim, Abdelmonem, Maaloul; Kouka, Ateya, Ashour; Tau, Kahraba, El Shahat
Here is how the second round went!
We had a fantastic tactical battle in the first game with Urawa Reds getting the better of Club León thanks to a late goal from their substitute striker, Schalk.
The seocnd game was a more one-sided affair, with Al Ahly beating Benzema's Al Ittihad on home soil 3-1!
Welcome!
Here we are again with more live football action from Saudi Arabia as Fluminense take on Al Ahly in the Club World Cup semi-final!
It's Joe here to guide you through the action that should start in around 90 minutes.