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Match Analysis
Al Hilal, a team adorned with stars, started their Club World Cup match against an already-eliminated Pachuca with aggressive intent. Early in the game, it appeared Sergej Milinkovic-Savic had given Al Hilal the lead with a powerful strike. However, the goal was ultimately disallowed by referee Danny Makkelie, who judged that Milinkovic-Savic had been overly aggressive in his challenge with Elias Montiel during the build-up to the effort.
Despite the early setback of the disallowed goal, Al Hilal's breakthrough was not long in coming. In the 22nd minute, Nasser Al-Dawsari delivered a superb defence-splitting pass to his namesake, Salem Al-Dawsari. Salem, who had been fresh off an impressive 30 goal contributions in the Saudi Pro League last season, showed his class by exquisitely lifting the ball over the onrushing Pachuca goalkeeper, Sebastian Jurado, to put Al Hilal firmly in control.
Al Hilal had a golden opportunity to double their lead nine minutes before halftime, but Marcos Leonardo squandered the chance. Last season's 17-goal striker, finding himself unmarked, inexplicably headed the ball into the stands, missing what appeared to be an easier opportunity to score and extend his team's advantage.
The second half saw a brief resurgence from Pachuca. They finally managed to test Al Hilal's goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou, in the 56th minute. Bounou, who had been in top form after saving a crucial 92nd-minute penalty from Federico Valverde in Al Hilal's Group H opener against Real Madrid, displayed his quality once again by expertly gathering Salomon Rondon’s fierce strike at the second attempt.
Despite making no fewer than four substitutions, Pachuca found it frustratingly difficult to force Bounou into making another save for the remainder of the game. It seemed that Simone Inzaghi's Al Hilal side was content to maintain possession and see out the match, demonstrating tactical discipline and control.
However, the scoring wasn't quite finished. Deep into stoppage time, Marcos Leonardo finally redeemed himself with a goal. It was a textbook example of expertly beating the offside trap; he timed his run perfectly from Ruben Neves’ through ball, smartly rounded Jurado, and calmly rolled the ball into an empty net, securing a comfortable 2-0 victory for Al Hilal.
This well-earned three points set up a highly anticipated quarter-final clash for Al Hilal on Saturday against Manchester City, who boast an unblemished record in the tournament. The winner of this exciting encounter will then face either Inter Milan or Fluminense in the subsequent quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Pachuca will surely be relieved to conclude their 2025 Club World Cup campaign, having finished at the bottom of Group H with zero points.