Al Hilal are into the Club World Cup final! Electric Jubilant scenes for Al Hilal as they defeated Flamingo in the semi final of the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup.
Heroic moment accompanied with a taste of ecstasy saw Al Hilal become the first club from Saudi Arabia to get to the final of the FIFA Club World Cup.
They defeated Flamingo of Brazil 3-2 to set up a possible chance of meeting giants of World football, Real Madrid if the Los Blancos get a win over Al Ahly.
This victory against Flamingo can be likened to the victory Saudi Arabia recorded over Argentina, in their opening game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Al Hilal stunned 10-man Flamingo
The team from Saudi Arabia shocked 10-man Flamingo side to get to the final, as a result of goals from Salem Al Dawsari through two well taken penalties and a cool strike from Luciano Vietto.
Al Dawsari opened the flood gates after just three minutes with Pedro scoring the equalizer for the Brazilian side, Flamingo.
Flamingo’s grip on the game began to loose when Gerson caused a penalty and was eventually giving his marching orders in the stoppage time of the first half.
Al Dawsari stepped up and scored the penalty for Al Hilal to make double the lead of the Saudi Arabian side.
Minutes after the interval, Luciano Vietto further increased Al Hilal lead over Flamingo, before Pedro scored a consolation late on in the game to make the scoreline respectable.
Al Hilal manager in a presser after the game said: “Flamengo was surprised by our quality and by how prepared we were, mentally and strategically,”
“Flamengo didn’t expect that we would change our scheme from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-1-1, with Luciano Vietto as an attacking midfielder.
“Vietto ghosted behind their holding midfielders who we identified were not good on challenges. And he was brilliant, suffering both penalties and scoring a great goal for us.”
Flamingo started the game with a bright start, and in a controlled manner but they tailed off as the game wore on.
Al Hilal preyed on their weariness, profligacy, lethargy and drop in intensity to punish them in order to set up a final against Real Madrid or Al Ahly who battle each other on Wednesday in Rabat.
The team from Saudi Arabia are four time champions of their continent championships.
Real Madrid V Al Ahly Preview
Away from the hostilities in the La Liga for Real Madrid, they go up against Al Ahly who are battling in the semifinal of this competition for the third time in a row. The game will kick-off at 20:00 later tonight.
AL Ahly defeated Auckland City FC 3-0 before winning by a lone goal against MLS side, Seattle Sounders who were battling in the tournament for the first time.
It has been a wonderful dispensation for Arabs and African football in general as a result of the brilliance of the Atlas Lion of Morocco, who shocked the world by getting to the Semifinal of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
African fans, purist and enthusiasts would be expecting same grace, tenacity and courage needed to battle a giant in Real Madrid with the possibility of excelling at the end of the day.
If they can upset the odds and scale through the hurdle of the Los Blancos they would be facing off against Al Hilal, a team which they defeated in the third place match of the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates.
Real Madrid are four time champions of the Club World Cup and they are odds-on favorite to defeat Al Ahly who haven’t laid their hands on this title at any point in time.
Predictions:
Al Ahly would be coming into this game as the underdog and they would be trying everything they can to see if they can do the unthinkable.
But Real Madrid would be too strong a side for them to get a win over. The game could be dragged to extra time but Real Madrid should take this one.
So we say Real Madrid 2-0 Al Ahly (Full Time or After Extra Time).
