Real Madrid, Spain, won the FIFA Club World Cup after defeating Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia 5/3 in the final match of the tournament that was held today, Saturday.
Real Madrid advanced with a goal scored by Vinicius Jr. in the 13th minute, and Federico Valverde added the second goal in the 18th minute, before Musa Marega managed to reduce the difference by scoring the first goal for Al Hilal in the 26th minute, to end the first half with Real Madrid advancing 2/1.
In the second half, Karim Benzema scored the third goal for Real in the 54th minute, and Valverde added his second goal and the fourth for Real in the 58th minute, then Luciano Vito scored the second goal for Al Hilal in the 63rd minute, then Vinicius Junior added his second goal and the fifth for Real in the 69th minute.
In the 79th minute, Luciano Vito scored his second goal and the third goal for Al-Hilal.
Real Madrid qualified for the final match after defeating Al-Ahly of Egypt 4/1 in the semi-finals, while Al-Hilal advanced to this meeting by defeating Brazilian Flamengo 3/2.
This is the fifth time that Real Madrid has won the championship title, as the royal club, which was crowned with the title of the last edition of the European Champions League, had won the World Cup four times before, in the years 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Al Hilal became the first Saudi team, the third Asian team, and the third Arab team to reach the final match, after Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates and Al Raja of Morocco.
The start of the mid-level match came, and Real Madrid quickly imposed its control over the course of the game, and its offensive attempts continued in search of scoring an early goal that confuses the calculations of Al Hilal Saudi Arabia, which relied on narrowing spaces and launching counterattacks whenever it had the opportunity.
Real Madrid revealed its attacking fangs early after Vinicius Junior managed to score the lead in the 13th minute when he received a through pass inside the penalty area from the left side to face Abdullah Al-Mayouf, the Al-Hilal goalkeeper, before he hit the ball into the goal.
A minute later, Al-Hilal almost equalized the score when Luciano Vito hit a powerful ball from outside the penalty area, but it passed near the right post.
In the 18th minute, Real Madrid scored the second goal through Federico Valverde, when a cross pass was played from the right side, touched by Al-Mayouf, before Jang Hee-soo dispersed it to reach Valverde inside the penalty area from the right, to hit a powerful ball that hit the foot of Al-Mayouf and hugged the net.
In the 26th minute, from a counterattack, Al-Hilal scored the first goal when I played a pass behind the Real Madrid defenders to reach Musa Marega, who kicked the ball until he entered the Real Madrid penalty area and hit a powerful ball to hug the net.
Real Madrid imposed almost absolute control over the course of the match and besieged Al Hilal in the middle of its stadium in search of scoring a third goal in which it believed in its progress.
However, the two teams failed to pose any danger to the other’s goal, so the play was confined to the middle of the field until the 40th minute came, which almost witnessed Real scoring the third goal when it played a cross from the right side, which Karim Benzema met with a shot, but it passed next to the left post.
The offensive attempts continued, but did not result in anything, so the referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half, with Real Madrid advancing 2/1.
With the start of the second half, Al-Hilal gave up its defensive caution a little and exchanged Real for attacks, but they failed to pose any danger to the other’s goal, so the play was limited to the midfield in the first minutes of the match.
In the 54th minute, Real Madrid scored the third goal when Vinicius Junior passed a cross from the right into the six-yard area, which Benzema met with a powerful shot into the goal.
Four minutes later, Real Madrid scored the fourth goal when Dani Carvajal passed a cross from the right side, which Valverde met with a powerful shot from inside the six-yard area into the goal.
Contrary to the course of the game, and in the 63rd minute, Al-Hilal scored its second goal when a pass was played behind the Real Madrid defenders to Vito, who launched the ball and became in the face of Andrei Lunin, the Real goalkeeper, to shoot it into the goal the moment the goalkeeper left his goal.
Real Madrid responded in the 69th minute by scoring the fifth goal when Danny Ceballos penetrated the ball into the Al Hilal penalty area, before leaving it to Vinicius Junior on the left side inside the penalty area, to meet it with a powerful shot into the goal.
A minute later, Junior returned to threaten Al-Hilal’s goal when he hit a powerful ball from the edge of the penalty area, but his ball went over the crossbar by a few centimeters.
After that, Al-Hilal intensified its offensive attempts in search of scoring a third goal that would reduce the difference.
In the 79th minute, Al-Hilal scored the third goal when Michel Delgado penetrated the ball from the left side to face Lunin, the Real Madrid goalkeeper, and passed the ball to Vito, who put it into the goal.
The remaining time of the second half passed without anything new before the referee blew the whistle at the end of the match, with Real winning 5/3 and crowning the championship title for the fifth time.
