Brazilian Marcelo, a former Real Madrid player, has taken another step towards winning his fifth club world title. Going to see Fluminense in the final this Monday by causing the penalty that allowed his team to score first and win 2-0 against Al – Egyptian Ahly at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Two goals that allowed the Copa Libertadores champions to seal their ticket to a final in which the winner of the match between the City of Manchester, European champions and Japan’s Urawa Reds, defeated 0-1 in the quarter-finals, Lion .
The saying goes that you shouldn’t change what works, and that’s probably what the Fluminense coach thought: Fernanda Diniz, who did not hesitate to initially bet on the same eleven that made history last November by winning the first Copa Libertadores with the Brazilian team after a 2-1 defeat against Boca Juniors in Maracanã.
The “Tricolor” coach paid little attention to the 43 years of goalkeeper Fábio or the 35 years of Marcelo, a far cry from the 40-year-old Felipe Meloo who became the oldest field player during a Club World Cup match.
Fluminense from Brazil is a finalist at the Club World Cup
They defeated Al Ahly from Egypt 2-0, the goals were scored by our Colombian John Arias in the 70th minute and by the Brazilian Kennedy in the 90th minute. Tomorrow they play Manchester City from England against Urawa Reds from Japan pic.twitter.com/BO09Bft9Yd
– JIMMY ZAMBRANO F (@JIMMYZAMBRANOF) December 18, 2023
Despite the seniority of many of its members, FO Luminense approached the event with the enthusiasm of a teenager, the same enthusiasm that exudes the cheerful playing style proposed by Diniz, with constant exchanges between all members of the attacking front.
It was no surprise that the Colombian attacked from both the left and the right, his natural position. João Arias, by far the most dangerous player of the Brazilian team in the first half.
Árias managed to put Fluminense on the scoreboard nine minutes into the match with a spectacular first shot after a cross from the left flank I said no that violently hit the post of the goal that O Shenawy was defending.
Fifteen minutes later, João Arias saw a post block his corner kick.
Two clear events that did not stop Al-Ahlio, like their eleven ‘champions’, from being the most successful team in African football, causing unrest in the Brazilian penalty area during a corner kick in the 19th minute. Samuel Xavier switched off on the same goal line as Kahrabae was about to hit the ball into the net.
A shock for Fluminense who later had to be entrusted to the experienced goalkeeper Fábio, whom he avoided Kahraba with a spectacular intervention. In the 36th minute he made the final score 0-1 with a brilliant header.
Counter-attacks with them The Egyptian team continued to torment the Rio team sporadically in a second half that saw Fernando Diniz’s They finally gain possession.
A dominance that, however, Fluminense was unable to create clear scoring opportunities, apart from a powerful cross shot from the Argentine striker German Canoe. He narrowly missed in the 53rd minute.
However, Marcelo was not willing to let anything or anyone stop him from achieving his dream. winning his fifth world club championship title.
Although the Real Madrid player has lost the speed of his best years, Marcelo has not lost his nerve and the first time he had to meet his duo close to the penalty area. He did not hesitate to attack the South African Percy Tau.
A resource that, despite things not going well for the Brazilian full-back, allowed Marcelo to conquer the position, providing experience and antics that allowed the Al-Ahly player to dominate him and exact a penalty that would ultimately be decisive.
João Arias He was responsible for converting the penalty to 1-0 after beating the Egyptian goalkeeper El Shenawy, who had already prevented a maximum penalty from the former Real Madrid player in the quarter-finals Karim Benzemanow in the ranks of Saudi Al- Ittihad came.
The Egyptian team had the opportunity to equalize with a header moments later, but Tua could not make up for the mistake with a weak and concentrated header that ended up in the hands of goalkeeper Fábio.
His innocence contrasted with the gluttony of John Kennedy, the hero of the Copa Libertadores final who didn’t even need it. Eleven minutes on the pitch to demonstrate his effectiveness by scoring the final 2-0 in the 90th minute that sealed our participation in the match. Fluminense final.
GREAT GOAL OF FLUMINENSE
With pure tiki-taka, the Diniz players qualify for the final of the Club World Cup. The goal was scored by the Maracanã hero: John Kennedy. pic.twitter.com/FsPFVT5zYy
-LaEterna (@LaEterna10) December 18, 2023
file
Club World Cup
Semi-final 1
Fluminense 2 x 0 Al-Ahly
Stadium: King Abdullah Sports City
Headquarters: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
Goals
1-0 (71′).- Jhon Arias (penalty)
2:0 (90′).-Kennedy
Setups
Fluminense
Fabio
Samuel Xavier
(Guga, 83′)
child
Felipe Melo
(Marlon, 75′)
Marcelo
(Diogo Barbosa, 79′)
Andrew
Martinelli
João Arias
Goose
(Lima, 79′)
I said no
(Kennedy, 79′)
German canoe
Coach: Fernando Diniz
Al-Ahly
El Shenawy
Hany
Yasser
Abdelmonein
Maaloul
Emma
(Rami Rabia, 91′)
Akram
(Afsha, 75′)
Marawan
(El Solía, 91′)
dew
(Fouad, 75′)
Kahraba
(Taher, 75′)
The Shahat
Coach: Marcel Koller
(With information from EFE)
Source: La Neta Neta

I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.