CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Germán Cano scored on a header three minutes into the match, and Fluminense held on to upset Champions League finalist Inter Milan 2-0 to advance to the Club World Cup quarterfinals in front of a sparse crowd of 20,030 at Bank of America Stadium on Monday.
The Brazilians move on to face the Manchester City-Al Hilal winner on Friday in Orlando, Florida.
Almost before both teams were able to break a sweat in the 90-degrees Fahrenheit heat, Jhon Arias sent a slightly deflected crossing pass from the right corner that Cano headed between goalkeeper Yann Sommer’s legs into the net for a 1-0 lead.
It was all they would need.
The Brazilians appeared to add to their lead late in the first half, but Ignacio’s header into the net was waived off due to being offside.
On the other end of the pitch, Milan kept pressing, eager for the tie.
The Italians controlled the time of possession throughout the match, owning the ball 68% of the time, and certainly had its chances after outshooting the Brazilian team 16-11.
But Milan simply couldn’t will the ball into the net.
It was one bad bounce after another. And often times when one of their shots was saved there was no one there to score off a rebound.
Fluminense’s Hercules eventually added a goal on a wide open shot for Fluminense in stoppage time for the final 2-0 margin.
As the match was winding down Fluminense players jumped up and down on the sideline. That celebration carried over to the field after the match, where they hopped up and down in unison in a huddle, their arms wrapped around each other.
After the game, frustrated Inter Milan captain Laurato Martínez said in a fiery interview with FC InterNews that “whoever doesn’t want to be here should leave.”
The match got heated at one point after a Fluminense player on the bench appeared to grab one of the balls on the sideline to prevent an Inter Milan advantage after a ball was kicked out of bounds. The Brazilian team received a yellow card, but not until after players exchanged shoves.
Key moment
Martínez had a point-blank shot in the second half to tie the game, but the ball hit off the upright. He couldn’t believe his bad luck and shook his head in disbelief.
Takeaways
Fluminense had changed its defensive strategy before the match to use three defensive backs to defend against Milan.
“I thought a lot about what scheme we would use,” Fluminense coach Renato Gaúcho said. “We should have three backs so we could mirror their own group. They were compliant with my instructions. We have been humble and we knew how to respect the opponent when they had the ball. I told them ‘I trust you.’ I told them yesterday and I told them again today and I told them, ‘I believe it.’ The players adapted very well.”
Fluminense played more poised throughout the match and became the second Brazilian club team to reach the quarterfinals, joining Palmeiras.
Noteworthy
Just 20,030 fans were in attendance at the 74,867 capacity stadium. Stadium officials invited patrons from the upper deck to come sit in the lower deck, which was still half empty.
What they said
“We are representing Brazil football beautifully. … The fans are happy and feeling strong because we are here playing the big European teams.” — Gaúcho on reaching the final eight.
“We need to look one another in the eye and accept the fact that we need to be self-critical and never point the finger at one another.” — Inter Milan coach Cristian Chivu
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
