NASHVILLE: Al-Hilal held their composure to defeat CF Pachuca of Mexico 2-0 in Nashville and book their place in the FIFA Club World Cup Round of 16.

The hard-fought victory means coach Simone Inzaghi’s side are the only team from Asia, Africa and Oceania to progress in the 32-team tournament. The Riyadh club will now meet Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City in Orlando on Monday.

Defense holds strong

CF Pachuca started the match the better side, with former Newcastle United striker Salomon Rondon threatening to stretch the Al-Hilal defense early on. Hassan Al-Tambakti, the Saudi center-back who was a doubt after limping off against Red Bull Salzburg, put a confident display, stepping in twice in the opening 15 minutes when Rondon looked like he would test Yassine Bounou.

Of the three games Al-Hilal have played in the US this month, this match in “Music City” was — somewhat ironically given his nickname — Bono’s quietest. Pachuca managed 12 shots, but only two hit the target; both were central and neither worried the Moroccan, even if he did seem to give Rondon a sniff of a follow-up in the first half.

Pachuca, the reigning Concacaf champions, had scored in both their previous matches against Salzburg and Real Madrid, yet never came close here. Every great team is built on a solid defense and Inzaghi, now with two successive clean sheets, certainly seems to have organized his backline. 

Al-Dawsari does it again

Dressed all in white in the land of the “Man in Black” — country star Johnny Cash — the Blues soon found their rhythm. They settled into the match with the help of captain Salem Al-Dawsari, who raised the heart rate of right-back Eduardo Bauermann as well as the noise levels inside GEODIS Park during a busy first half. Intent on driving at his Brazilian full-back, Al-Dawsari showed speed and trickery every time he touched the ball, to the delight of the 14,147 fans.

His moment came in the 22nd minute. Nasser Al-Dawsari noticed his captain running in behind and lofted the ball forwards. Salem still had much to do, but he is not a player who struggles in high-pressure moments. The Saudi flyer needed just one touch to compose himself, before lifting the ball high and over Pachuca goalkeeper Sebastian Jurado. As the ball hung in the air so did a silence, but Al-Dawsari knew it was going in and reeled off to celebrate his 27th goal of the season with the customary cartwheel and backflip.

“Al-Hilal has been working well since last season and we believe we are on the right track,” he told the media. “Our organization does not change just because the coach changes or a player leaves or arrives. Al-Hilal is built by many, many people — that is the secret of our continuity. Tonight we will celebrate, but tomorrow the focus switches to the next match.” 

Misfiring Marcos Leonardo

For 95 minutes it looked like Brazilian striker Marcos Leonardo would rue missed opportunities once again. The former Santos forward arrived at the Club World Cup having scored 26 times since joining Al-Hilal from Benfica last summer for $46.8m (€40m) and came close against both Madrid and Salzburg. Ultimately, he fumbled at the crucial moments — and it seemed more of the same against Pachuca, until the dying minutes. 

Lovely first-half play out from the back led to Malcom feeding the 22-year-old, but he had strayed offside. Later, Al-Hilal’s No. 11 saw his header flash high and wide. As the match wore on, with nerves building and Pachuca pushing for an equalizer, Malcom picked his compatriot out again. He did well to chip it over the onrushing Jurado but failed to get enough power in the shot and the covering Bauermann cleared comfortably.

With the match into the last of six additional minutes, however, Leonardo finally scored after collecting a long ball forward, rounding the Pachuca goalkeeper, and rolling it into an empty net. His own celebrations were muted, his team’s ecstatic. The hope is this will give the Brazilian confidence going into the match against Manchester City, when chances will surely be slim. 

Mission accomplished, for now

Inzaghi spoke of his “great satisfaction” and revealed his target at the start of the month was to reach the Round of 16 — which his side has achieved. However, club president Fahad bin Nafel, speaking to Arab news, is now looking deeper into the expanded tournament.

“We are the only Arab club, the only Asian club, to progress to the Round of 16, so we are very proud of what we have achieved tonight,” he said. “We are a great team with great players, great technical team and management. I am really supportive. That is our job — to fully support them, so they can push on and continue these great achievements and, inshallah, win the next game too.”   

Blue Wave in high spirits 

The Blue Wave swept through GEODIS Park on Thursday night. Nerves coursed through the concourse pre-match, while sheer joy was on display afterwards. Some Saudi fans paired cowboy hats with kanduras, while others draped the Kingdom’s flag over their shoulders and danced in jubilation. The Saudi spectators may have been outnumbered by their Mexican opposites, but they were rarely outdone in terms of noise. 

As the Al-Hilal players headed down the tunnel after a short on-field celebration, a mass of blue fans gathered under the stands to savor the moment, wave their scarves and sing club songs. “Bring on City! Bring on City,” they chanted.

The Al-Hilal faithful, having traveled from Miami to Washington to Nashville, will now go to Orlando. They have proved both popular and respectful, posing for photos with other teams’ fans and enjoying the chance to bring Saudi soccer culture to a wider audience. The victory against a team already eliminated allowed them to celebrate with no possibility of perceived antagonism. 

Their hope is that this victory, historic though it is, is not yet the highlight of their US road trip.