Club World Cup 2023: Al Hilal down Flamengo 3-2, move into final
The Saudis on Saturday will play the winner of Wednesday's other semi-final between European champions Real Madrid and Egypt's Al Ahly.
Al Hilal players celebrate after beating Flamengo at the FIFA Club World Cup in the semi-final. AP
Tangiers, Morocco: Salem Al-Dawsari scored two penalties as Al Hilal beat Flamengo 3-2 on Tuesday to reach this weekend’s Club World Cup final in Morocco.
The Saudis on Saturday will play the winner of Wednesday’s other semi-final between European champions Real Madrid and Egypt’s Al Ahly.
Al-Dawsari’s first spot-kick came in the fourth minute after Luciano Vietto was felled by Flamengo right-back Matheuzinho.
See you in the #ClubWC final, @Alhilal_FC 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/EmtVUHD3GW
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 7, 2023
The Saudi Arabia forward became the first player to score against the same opponents in two editions of the Club World Cup after also netting against the Brazilians in 2019.
The teams were level a quarter of an hour later as striker Pedro side-footed his effort first time past 36-year-old Abdullah Al Muaiouf.
Al-Dawsari’s second penalty came nine minutes into first-half injury time after Vietto was tripped by former Marseille midfielder Gerson.
Gerson was sent off for a second yellow card, having received his first on 15 minutes for diving in the Al Hilal box.
Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud has pledged one million Saudi Riyal (£222k) to each Al-Hilal player for reaching the Club World Cup Final and a further one million if they win the tournament.💰 pic.twitter.com/Lo6gOiPjlo
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) February 7, 2023
With 20 minutes remaining, Al Hilal moved closer to the final when Argentinian Vietto fired in off the crossbar after Al-Dawsari’s clipped pass.
After 20 seconds of the six minutes of additional time, Pedro cut the deficit with an easy tap-in but it was not enough to spark a late comeback from the Copa Libertadores champions.
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