The Club World Cup will always remember this June 30 and these round of 16 matches. Just hours after Fluminense defeated Inter Milan in one of the tournament's biggest surprises, Al Hilal worked a miracle by defeating Manchester City in an unpredictable extra time (3-4). Pep Guardiola's team took the lead, but the Arabs came back, forced the British team to equalize before the 90th minute, and won in extra time with goals from Koulibaly and Marcos Leonardo, adding another disappointment to the 'citizens' season.
The match started well for City. In the ninth minute, Bernardo Silva finished a good combination between Reijnders and Ait-Nouri to put his team ahead. Al Hilal claimed a handball by the left-back in the play, but after a long VAR review, the referee validated the goal.
The English team was superior, and only Bono prevented them from extending their lead with a great save against Savinho. Doku, who troubled Cancelo, created the best chances. Gündogan and Ruben Dias had opportunities that were saved by the goalkeeper, and Inzaghi's team made it to halftime barely holding on.
But everything changed after the break, both for Al Hilal and City. The English team slowed down, and the Saudis wanted to conquer the world through Marcos Leonardo, who scored the equalizer with their first shot on target right after halftime.
The goal stunned City, who couldn't contain the Saudi team's intentions. Cancelo came close to making it 1-2, and Malcom, taking advantage of a counterattack after an English corner, ran almost the length of the field to beat Ederson with a well-placed shot.
Guardiola's team quickly responded, and Haaland, after a rebound from a corner kick, equalized again and put City back in the game. The coach brought in Rodri to control the game that was becoming chaotic against the Saudis, and City dominated, although without clear-cut chances.
Only Doku, relentless, offered something different from his teammates, showing that City is far from being the team with rhythm and execution it was a couple of years ago. In the 84th minute, Al Hilal defenders cleared a ball from Haaland off the line, and the match headed into extra time, where madness ensued.
Guardiola substituted the Norwegian forward and brought in Cherki to add creativity in the final pass, but it was Al Hilal who struck first. Koulibaly made it 2-3 with a flawless header from a corner kick taken by Neves.
More drama for a City where Guardiola continued to make changes. He took out Rodri, who had come in at the 53rd minute, and introduced Foden, who assisted in the 3-3 equalizer after a precise cross from Cherki from outside the box. It was the 103rd minute, and there was still a long night ahead.
City dominated possession in the opponent's half, but every Al Hilal counterattack posed a significant threat to Ederson's goal due to the English team's poor defensive transition. This led to the decisive goal. Lodi, a former Atletico player, delivered a perfect cross with his left foot, Milinkovic-Savic headed the ball over Aké, Ederson made an initial save, but Marcos Leonardo capitalized on the rebound to seal Manchester's fate.
Defeated and unable to come close to an equalizer, Guardiola's team suffered another disappointment this season, where they fell behind Liverpool in the Premier League and lost to Madrid in the Champions League playoff.
An unexpected turn of events for Infantino's tournament, just like Inter's defeat, but a reward for the effort and talent of Fluminense and Al Hilal. The World Cup is unpredictable.