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Only eight teams remain in this year’s FIFA Club World Cup as we head into the competition’s quarterfinals, beginning with a tough matchup between Fluminense and Al-Hilal. Both teams had incredible wins against larger clubs in the Round of 16 to face each other in Friday afternoon’s 3 PM ET match for a spot in the semifinals.
Don’t miss out on the action, and be sure to review my picks for the big game to decide whether they’re something you want to fade or follow!
Fluminense sits at 6th place in the Brazilian Serie A with 20 points, a 6-2-3 record and 1 game in hand. Their season is only partially underway, although the squad did bag a spot in the Round of 16 of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana after finishing the group stage at the top of Group F. The team has made waves in this FIFA Club World Cup tournament, and may very well be one of the biggest underdogs still left in play.
Their opening match began with a crucial 0-0 draw against Borussia Dortmund, a team still left in the competition, who face Real Madrid on Saturday. Their second match against Ulsan was a major turning point for their goal differential with a 4-2 victory. However, they drew 0-0 once again against Mamelodi Sundowns to finish 2nd in Group F. The team then went on to the Round of 16 against Champions League finalists Inter Milan, where they pulled off an incredible 2-0 win to secure a spot in the quarterfinals.
RW Kevin Serna leads his team in the Brazilian domestic league with 3 goals and 9 games. However, it will take the help of teammates Jhon Arias (1 goal and 1 assist) and Juan Freytes (1 goal) to add some extra wood to the fire, while legendary CB Thigao Silva holds strong at the backline.
Al-Hilal concluded their 2024/25 Saudi Pro League season in 2nd place with 75 points, a 23-6-5 record, and a +54 goal differential, the highest in the league. While they didn’t defend their domestic league title, they did take home the Saudi Super Cup, making them a strong contender even as underdogs in this FIFA Club World Cup. Aside from Fluminense, they are the other respectable underdogs left in this tournament, meaning this game should be extremely interesting.
Al-Hilal faced difficult opponents of Real Madrid in their first match of the tournament, although they managed to scrape out a necessary 1-1 draw. Their second game against RB Salzburg saw 0 goals scored for either side, making the final match of the Group Stage crucial for the Saudi Arabian side. On matchday 3, Al-Hilal took home a 2-0 victory to finish in 2nd place in Group H behind Real Madrid. They went on to play Man City in a Round of 16 game that went to 120 minutes of extra time, ending in a 4-3 upset to the Saudi Arabian squad.
Al-Hilal has plenty of goal scorers from their domestic league, including the likes of Marcos Leonardo (17 goals), Salem Al-Dawsari (15 goals and 15 assists), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (12 goals and 6 assists) and Malcolm (9 goals and 10 assists). Marcos Leonardo leads the Club World Cup scoring with 3 goals in 4 games, and teammate Ruben Neves has proven to be crucial with 1 goal and 2 assists.
Considering how well Marcos Leonardo has played in the tournament so far, I expect him to tuck away another goal to be the current goal-scoring leader and give Al-Hilal a historical win to move on to the semifinals.
Both teams are currently in the best form, especially after Fluminense’s 2-0 upset over Inter Milan and Al-Hilal’s 4-3 upset over Man City. All things considered, though, Al-Hilal overcame a slightly tougher path with Man City being one of the undeniable top teams in the tournament, and the Saudi Arabian side has enough firepower to climb out of a goal deficit, scoring 7 goals in the tournament.
I expect Al-Hilal attacker Marcos Leonardo to continue one of the best seasons he’s had to date with another 1+ goals to lead his side to victory.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.