Brazil’s Fluminense are through to the FIFA Club World Cup quarter-finals thanks to a surprise 2–0 win over UEFA Champions League finalists, Inter Milan, at the Bank of America Stadium in the heat of Charlotte on Monday.
Coach Renato’s decision to line up a three-man defence paid off, catching Inter off guard after only three minutes when German Cano pounced on a deflected cross to score a header through Inter keeper Yann Sommer’s legs.
Inter dominated possession and came close to equalising after 11 minutes when Henrikh Mkhitaryan brought the ball down expertly and pulled back for Federico Dimarco, whose fierce shot was kept out of goal by the Fluminense keeper Fabio.
Samuel Xavier shot just wide for Fluminense while Dimarco was denied again from a free-kick as both teams looked for the crucial next goal, which Ignacio thought he hgot for Fluminense in the 39th minute as he nodded in from close range after a series of headers in the box, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
Inter continued to dominate play in the second half, with Stefan de Vrij shooting wide from close range when he was odds on to score, while Dimarco saw another free-kick go narrowly wide and Lautaro Martinez was denied from close range by Fabio.
The Inter Milan striker finally beat Fabio in the 83rd minute but his shot from inside the Fluminense box came crashing off the foot of the post, much to the Brazilian side’s relief.
Hercules sealed the win for Fluminense three minutes into added time, calmly slotting home from the edge of the box and spark celebrations among the Brazilians.
There was still time for Dimarco to come agonisingly close to scoring again, with the Italian defender’s curling shot from outside the box crashing off the woodwork as Fluminense reached the last-eight and set up a clash with either Manchester City or Al Hilal on Friday in Orlando.
Fluminense captain and former AC Milan defender Thiago Silva had extra reason to celebrate after the win over Inter Milan in the Club World Cup round of 16, revelling not only in his team’s historic performance but also in beating his former club’s city rivals.