A difficult season for Manchester City was capped off with perhaps the most shocking defeat in Club World Cup history, as Saudi side Al Hilal stunned Man City in extra time 4-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. The result will see Al Hilal face Brazilian side Fluminense, which means there is a guaranteed semifinalist in the Club World Cup from outside of the UEFA Region. Palmeiras are already into the quarters as well, with CONCACAF’s last team, Monterrey, coming up just short against Dortmund in the final round of 16 game.
Al Hilal’s Yassine Bounou continued to be an elite performer in the biggest matches as goalkeeper. He saved 10 shots from Manchester City, as the Premier League side had twice as many shots and twice as much possession as Al Hilal. Two goals from Marcos Leonardo were the difference however, as Al Hilal came alive in the second half to not just make it a match, but emerge as victors in extra time.
Bernardo Silva got City started early and they lead 1-0 at the half, it was looking routine, until Leonardo and Malcom scored in rapid succession to make it 2-1. Erling Haaland would draw it back to 2-2, but the Al Hilal defense was resolute to force extra time. In that extra time period, the defender Kalidou Koulibaly, and Leonardo were the goal scorers, Phil Foden scored for City but it wasn’t enough. As Pep Guardiola’s men suffered yet another recent tournament crash out, this time on the global stage.
While Manchester City is trying to regen their squad without breaking it up, they looked defensively vulnerable on the counter-attack and Pep’s tactics look stale. The Saudi side was heavily motivated to defend and suffer to emerge with the victory, only by winning big games on big stages like this can the Saudi League continue to operate with fewer financial losses, with the Saudi Pro League being a national priority, the league hopes to move beyond the Middle East and create global brands like England’s Premier League.
Statement Win for Saudi Ambitions
Playing in Orlando in front of 42,000 fans, almost all of which were behind Man City, the Saudi government project club Al Hilal were the ones who made history. Despite missing key players like domestic leader Salem Al-Dawsari, it was the international stars acquired by Al Hilal who reminded the world that they didn’t become worse footballers just by leaving Europe.
The two Brazilians Leonardo and Malcom were stars, and now face they are facing Fluminense in the semifinals, as goals from Cano and Hercules saw Fluminense pull an upset of their own against Inter Milan, a 2-0 win where Fluminense absorbed pressure. Of note, Al Hilal were the club who splash signed Neymar, only to see him struggle with injuries and return to Brazil. Much like PSG achieving the Champions League glory without Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and other big name stars, Al Hilal achieved this result without Neymar, the player who put their jersey on the international map.
Much has been written about the Saudi government’s eventual ambition to join UEFA’s elite Champions League competition, not just be the dominant power in the AFC Champions League, placing three or four clubs in the FIFA Club World Cup every 4 years will be their best venue to compete, and will continue to make their clubs attractive top players beyond wages.
The fact Simone Inzaghi went from a Champions League final with a talented but not particularly deep Inter Milan squad, to straight into the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup with Al Hilal is a significant feat, and it’s the same tournament that Inter Milan already exited from.
With CONEMBOL and AFC both placing teams into the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup, the divide between the most famous European football clubs in the world, and the rest of the world, is going to continue to narrow. Just like the World Cup has become more competitive for teams from less established and less resourced football regions, the Club World Cup is providing the same platform to let other teams achieve glory. A mission that they had in mind to start the tournament.
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