Club World Cup: Fluminense and Chelsea to meet in the semis after eliminating Al Hilal and Palmeiras

Fluminense continues to daydream. Four days after convincingly eliminating Inter Milan from the Club World Cup, the Brazilian team advanced to the semifinals on Friday with a 2-1 victory over another surprise of the tournament, Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia.

Two goals by Martinelli (40) and Hercules (70) gave the Cariocas the victory against the Arab team, which scored through Marcos Leonardo (51) and pressed until the last minute.

"We were able to suffer once again, especially at the end of the match. But a match against such a strong team, in a World Cup, is all about that," Fluminense coach Renato Portaluppi told a news conference. "We had few chances, but we were able to take advantage of them."

His side will take on Chelsea, from London, who narrowly beat Palmeiras, also from Brazil, a team that came into the match with many absentees after most of its first-choice defenders were suspended, including its captain, Paraguayan Diego Gomez.

Martinelli to the rescue

Until Martinelli's goal, the match was a triumph of defenses over attacks. Both teams closed well at the back, and it was difficult for the attackers to find a breakthrough—a lot of tactical order and hardly any chances.

The Saudis attempted to activate their Brazilian duo, Marcos Leonardo and Malcom, but they consistently missed the last pass, or an opposing player appeared to break up the play.

Flu played patiently waiting for an opening that never came, and Jhon Arias, their best player of the tournament, had to drop far from the Saudi goal to receive the ball.

The best chance of the half came from a high shot by Brazilian midfielder Nonato after Al Hilal had lost the ball in their own half. Too little to trouble goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, better known as Bono.

The game was heading into halftime when a poor clearance by Joao Cancelo found its way to Colombian Gabriel Fuentes, and he lifted his head in search of a partner in the box.

His cross found Martinelli, who took off his marker with a flicked control and unleashed an unstoppable left-footed shot into the top corner of Bono's net. The numerous Brazilian fans in Orlando could exult: their team had just found the key to the lock.

Brazilian lack of control

The second half began as the first had ended, with the Saudis pouring forward towards Fábio's goal. A corner kick taken by Neves found Koulibaly again, and the center back's header found Leonardo alone in the six-yard box. The Brazilian equalized with a simple shot from close range.

The Saudi goal finally opened up the game. The midfield offered more and more spaces, and the defense began to suffer. German Cano had the 2-1 in his boots after a mistake by defender Renan Lodi, but Bono read his cutback well and stole the ball from the ground.

The Argentine striker had another chance just after, but missed a great pass from Arias in the box.

The Cariocas dominated, but Al Hilal continued to look dangerous against the run of play.

As against Inter on Monday, it was Hercules, Martinelli's replacement, who sealed the Brazilian victory.

The midfielder received a header in the box from Samuel Xavier and beat Bono with a cross-shot, sending the Tricolor fans into a frenzy.

The victory seemed to be in the bag, and Flu came close to a third through Samuel Xavier and Jhon Arias, but missed those chances and ended up suffering a fruitless siege from the Saudis during stoppage time.

Chelsea suffer against Palmeiras

In the other big game of the day, Chelsea qualified for the semifinals with just enough, helped by an unfortunate own goal from experienced goalkeeper Weverton in the final minutes to beat Palmeiras 2-1 in Philadelphia on Friday.

The Blues, coached by Italian Enzo Maresca, ruined the dream of a Brazilian semifinal and will compete on Tuesday with Fluminense of Rio de Janeiro for a place in the final on July 13.

Midfielder Cole Palmer opened the account for the Londoners after the first quarter of an hour (16') at the Lincoln Financial Field, but Estêvão hurt his future team with a goal at the beginning of the second half (53').

When everything seemed to suggest that the match would go to extra time, a play to forget by Weverton (83') gave the Conference League champions the ticket to the semis.

The elimination in the quarterfinals marks the sad farewell of Estêvão, the 18-year-old Brazilian pearl, who will soon join Chelsea, which will pay more than $60 million for his transfer, including bonuses.

The Chelsea-Palmeiras semi-final will be played next Tuesday.