Astute defender Marcelo was given the penalty that sent Fluminense to the Club World Cup final after the team defeated Al Ahly 2-0 on Monday.
Jhon Arias was able to convert the penalty kick in the 71st minute after Marcelo skillfully drove forward Percy Tau into a challenge at the edge of the Al Ahly penalty area.
In the ninetieth minute, substitute John Kennedy scored a spectacular goal with his left foot to give Fluminense the lead.
The Brazilian team plays Manchester City or Urawa Red Diamonds in the championship game on Friday to win its second Club World Cup in 17 years.
Most of the 35,000 visitors were energetic, red-clad Al Ahly supporters. Their team plays the other semifinal loser for third place on Friday. The Tuesday game will be at King Abdullah Sports City.
Marcelo provided inventiveness while 40-year-old defender Felipe Melo and 43-year-old goalie Fabio guarded Fluminense.
Felipe Melo made an impression in the first half by sprinting back to block Tau, who was open and poised to score. Felipe Melo sprang up and cried with joy.
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Fabio regularly stopped Al Ahly’s eighteen goal attempts with his composed style and precise placement.
According to Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz, “I think players like Marcelo were decisive, especially for the penalty.” “Felipe Melo was very masterful as well; he had complete control.”
Fluminense and Al Ahly remembered a 20-year European dominance that attracted foreign stars.
Eleven African, nine Egyptian, eleven South American, and nine Brazilian players played in Cairo.
Marcelo (a five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid) and Felipe Melo (a Copa Libertadores winner) rewarded themselves for returning home after long careers in Europe.
Although outshot 11-3, Colombian winger Arias’s two shots hit Mohamed El Shenawy’s left post.
Arias scored his penalty after halting, pausing, and striking the ball with his right foot past El Shenawy, who was diving to his right after advancing at an unnatural angle like the goal.
Diniz said after the game that the short-cut grass and moist, slick surface caused his team’s first-half mistakes, which are different from their Brazilian pitches.
Al Ahly’s Swiss coach, Marcel Koller, was weird throughout the game. A black pitchsider stood out against Diniz’s red. Koller plays for both Brazil and Al Ahly this season.
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