South American champion Fluminense (Brazil) faces African champion team Al Ahly (Egypt) in the first semi-final of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup, taking place on the morning of December 19 at King Abdulla Sports City Stadium in Jeddah – Saudi Arabia.

Fluminense defeated Al Ahly in the Club World Cup semi-finals

Rated higher than the African representative, Fluminense in just the first 20 minutes of the match had two opportunities to shoot the ball against the vertical post of Al Ahly’s goal. On the opposite side of the field, Fluminense’s goalkeeper also had to work hard to save two situations. 0-0 was also the score of the first half of the first semi-final match when neither side scored a goal.

Felipe Melo regrets the missed opportunity

It wasn’t until after the break that the competition became more exciting. In the 68th minute, defender Marcelo ran the ball straight into Ah Ahly’s penalty area, forcing Percy Tau to throw his foot out to block it. The referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot and Marcelo’s teammate John Arias did not miss the opportunity to open the score for the Brazilian team.

Marcelo brought home the penalty after more than an hour of deadlock

Jhon Arias won the penalty kιck, opening the score

This important opening goal helped Fluminense overcome the deadlock and when Al Ahly was forced to аttаck, they had a chance to increase the gap. In the 90th minute, John Kennedy had a neat handling in front of the penalty area and then fired an unstoppable shot into the far corner, sealing a 2-0 final victory for the South American champions.

John Kennedy scored the winning goal for Fluminense

Fluminense is the first team to win the right to enter the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup final. Their opponent will be the winner of the remaining semi-finals between Urawa Reds and Man City, the match taking place in the early morning of December 20.

Marcelo faces the opportunity to establish a miracle at the Club World Cup

Marcelo is not the only player to participate in the FIFA World Cup Club final 5 times, because, before him, former teammates at Real Madrid such as Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Dani Carvajal all did the same thing. 

However, only Marcelo played 5 finals for two different clubs and had the opportunity to catch the record of winning 5 FIFA World Cup Club championships like his former teammates, all with Real Madrid.