Internazionale 0-2 Fluminense: Brazilian club stun Inter Milan to reach FIFA Club World Cup quarter-finals

The players head to the sideline for a drink and a recovery break – a feature of this tournament given the high temperatures.

Fluminense win the ball high again and the impressive Arias does well to link play up before shooting from range later in the move, with Sommer pulling off the save. The loose ball drops to the onrushing Xavier, who should score, but sends his effort skidding across goal and fractionally wide of the far post.

Inter fail to make much of consecutive set-pieces, fizzing a wide free-kick into the wall and then committing a foul from the resulting corner.

It’s fair to say that Fluminense are physical and another risky challenge sees Freytes pick up a yellow for a foul that occurred just inches outside the box. VAR checks that and it’s the right call to not give a penalty, but the booking was inevitable.

Barella chips a lovely ball over the top to find Thuram, who is on the left side of the box. He goes for a spectacular first-time volley, which would have been an extraordinary goal had it gone in… but instead pings the ball into the banks of vocal Fluminense fans in the stands.

Arias pulls off a lovely bit of skill to get into space in the centre of the park, but Fluminense, who haven’t had the ball for a while, opt against their usual direct approach and opt for a bit of possession instead.

Fábio does just enough to claw a looping cross away with Thuram waiting inside the box. Inter are starting to hit their stride in this game now, controlling possession in the way they would have hoped to do.

Cano goes into the book after a spell of persistent fouling in midfield… although the fouling wasn’t actually by him. It appears that the referee took exception to something Cano said when the free-kick was given against Fluminense.

Veteran goalkeeper Fábio makes a terrific save to deny Dimarco’s powerfully hit shot from an angle after great work by Barella and Mkhitaryan unlocked the Fluminense defence. That was beautiful football and a sign of the quality in this Inter side.

Aslanni and Nonato clash in midfield and it’s the Inter player who arrived later, picking up a booking that will keep him out of the quarter-final if Inter recover to get there. He’s angry at the decision, but it’s probably the correct one, he was the more out of control in that collision.

Inter look sluggish and are struggling here, not being given a second on the ball in midfield and unable to thread any sort of extended spells of possession together.

Inter are stunned and it’s Fluminense who have the lead on the back of a terrific and intense start to the game. The high press sees Inter lose the ball in their own half again and a deflected cross loops into the box where Germán Cano meets it, just a couple of yards out, heading home through the legs of Sommer. 1-0!

The game gets underway and Inter are immediately put under pressure by Fluminense’s high press.

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This year’s Champions League finalists made quite a slow start to the tournament, held to a 1-1 draw by Monterrey in their Group E opener before mounting a late comeback to avoid more dropped points with a 2-1 win against Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds, sealed with a goal in injury time. Inter end up topping the group and knocking out Argentinean club River Plate in the process with a 2-0 win on their final group matchday, again scoring twice late, including one in stoppage time, to win 2-0.

Group F proved to be a bit of an arm-wrestle for Fluminense, who got their FIFA Club World Cup campaign underway with a hard-earned point against Borussia Dortmund with a goalless draw, before picking up a crucial 4-2 win second up against Ulsan HD from South Korea. The final matchday effectively came down to a head-to-head between the Brazilian club and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, and a 0-0 draw was enough to send Fluminense through as runners-up behind Dortmund.

TNT Sports isn’t just a broadcaster. Make sure to check out the TNT Sports website for live sports news throughout the week. Our expert team of cross-sport writers and editors are all over the best of the breaking news and the big talking points, with new stories coming out 18 hours a day, seven days a week.

This is the first edition of this new iteration of the FIFA Club World Cup, with the tournament currently set to be held every four years. Depending on the success for the competition, continued investment, and interest from the eligible clubs, it’s possible that FIFA will look to increase the regularity of the tournament to make it a biennial event.

Inter are competing at this competition due to their performances in UEFA competitions during the qualifying period, finishing as the fourth-best non-Champions League winner from the continent. Fluminense are in as one of four Brazilian winners of the Copa Libertadores, with their triumph coming in 2023.

Inter XI: Sommer; Darmian, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Asllani, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Lautaro Martínez, Thuram.

Fluminense XI: Fabio; Xavier, Ignacio, Thiago Silva, Freytes, Rene, Bernal, Martinelli, Nonato, Jhon Arias, German Cano.

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