At least two teams have booked their place in the semi-finals of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup following Saturday’s early morning quarter-final clash in the United States.
Ahead of the games on Friday and Saturday morning, there was a moment’s silence before the kickoff in memory of Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota and his younger brother Andre Silva, who died in the early hours of Thursday after their car veered off a motorway in Spain and burst into flames.
In the first quarter-final clash, substitute Hercules struck a 70th-minute winner as Brazil’s Fluminense defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal 2-1.
A fine left-foot finish from Matheus Martinelli had put the Rio club ahead in the 40th minute, but Al Hilal’s Brazilian forward Marcos Leonardo levelled six minutes into the second half before Hercules stole the show to the delight of the vast majority of the 43,091 crowd.
In the other fixture, a late own goal by goalkeeper Weverton took Chelsea through to the Club World Cup semi-finals on Friday as the Premier League side edged Palmeiras of Brazil 2-1 in a last-eight tie that had been lit up by a moment of magic from young star Estevao Willian.
The teenage Brazil forward, who will join Chelsea after the tournament, was eager to impress his future employers, and his brilliant 53rd-minute finish cancelled out Cole Palmer’s opener in Philadelphia.
Chelsea will now face Fluminense in the first semi-final clash, their third Brazilian opponent in the competition, on Tuesday, July 8.
The remaining quarter-final fixtures will be played later today, with Paris Saint-Germain facing Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund taking on Real Madrid.
The scoreline was a repeat of Chelsea’s victory when the teams met in the final of the Club World Cup under the tournament’s old guise in 2022.
Discover more from starmich blog
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
