Al Hilal hit the right notes in Music City to set up Manchester City showdown
With keffiyahs replaced by cowboy hats and the smell of Arabic perfume mixing with that of smoked meats, Al Hilal enjoyed a Fifa Club World Cup night to remember at Geodis Park in Nashville.
In the land of country music and Johnny Cash, Simone Inzaghi's men walked the line perfectly, beating Mexico's CF Pachuca 2-0 in their final Group H match and progressing to the round of 16. They will now face Manchester City on Monday in Orlando.
Knowing only a win would do – and aware even three points might not be enough depending on the result between Real Madrid and Red Bull Salzburg – Inzaghi named an unchanged line-up for the third successive match.
Defender Hassan Al Tambakti recovered from the fatigue that saw him limp off in Sunday's stalemate with Salzburg and immediately showed his importance with his pace and composure repeatedly denying Salomon Rondon a free-run at Yassine Bounou in the Al Hilal goal.
Inzaghi had spoken of a need for 'greater efficiency inside the box' after only managing six shots on target and one goal – a penalty – from 31 attempts across their opening two matches.
It looked like it would be more of the same for much of a first half that produced limited chances. Al Hilal's Brazilian striker Marcos Leonardo headed over, compatriot Malcom fired wide, and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic slotted the ball into an empty net long after the referee's whistle had stopped play for an earlier foul.
But Salem Al Dawsari, so long the man for the big occasion, so long the man who comes up clutch, did it again. A few kilometres south of the famous Grand Ole Opry, Al Dawsari showed a two-step of his own in the 22nd minute: One touch to control Nasser Al Dawsari's lofted pass, another to lift the ball over the onrushing Sebastian Jurado and into the net.
After the finish, the flourish – the Saudi Pro League's recently crowned player of the season celebrating his 27th goal of the year with his trademark somersault.
'In important moments, big players turn up,' Al Dawsari told The National post-match.
'Thanks to God, I have very good numbers this year, but what is most important is the team and the group. I have been breaking records and look forward to breaking more in the future. Today we will celebrate the win and tomorrow we will focus on the next game and the round of 16.'
Peppered with delays and stoppages, Pachuca – already eliminated after losing their first two matches – tried to play further up the field as they sought solace. Yet other than drawing fouls and raising a few heart rates in Al Hilal's defence, the Mexican outfit never really tested Bounou.
Who would have thought Bono would be quiet in the Music City?
Inzaghi, aware of the fatal damage an equaliser would do to his side's hopes of progress, tightened things up by replacing Renan Lodi with Moteb Al Harbi before also removing captain Al Dawsari.
Yet it was Al Hilal who should have scored again, Leonardo doing everything right as he ran across the back line to collected Malcom's through ball. His chipped finish though was weak and allowed a Pachuca defender to get back and clear.
In the dying minutes, Pachuca finally started to ask more serious questions, the reigning Concacaf champions peppering Bono's box with crosses, but when Ilian Hernandez connected with a header, instead of an equaliser came a collective exhale among the 14,147 fans as it sailed narrowly wide.
With whistles ringing out from everywhere except the referee's mouth, the pressure lifted not by the official, but with the ball finding itself in the back of Pachuca's net. Once more Leonardo, active yet unimpactful so far this month, rounded the keeper and finally opened his account. The fans erupted, Inzaghi was swarmed by his technical staff, the importance of the victory clear.
Al Hilal are the only Asian side to progress through the group stages at this expanded 32-team competition. With Madrid beating Salzburg 3-0, the Riyadh club finish in second in Group H, lining up a last-16 tie with Manchester City. Al Hilal president Fahad bin Nafel told The National he is already looking forward to the match.
'The achievement we have done here at the Club World Cup is great,' said Bin Nafel. 'We always want to be a great ambassador for Saudi Arabia and we have achieved that goal. Now we want to reach the next step and, Inshallah, win against Manchester City. And we believe we can do it.'
Evidently so do the fans. Celebrating jubilantly in the stadium's concourse long after the players had retreated to the dressing room, they flew flags, swung scarves, and recorded everything for posterity on their phones. All while chanting in perfect Nashville harmony: 'Hatto City'.
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