Fluminense gets early goal from Germán Cano to knock out Inter Milan in Club World Cup Round of 16

By Canadian Press on June 30, 2025.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Germán Cano scored on a header three minutes into the match, and Fluminense held on to defeat Champions League finalist Inter Milan 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup in front of a sparce crowd at Bank of America Stadium on Monday.

The Brazilians move on to face the Manchester City-Al Halil winner on Friday in Orlando, Florida.

Almost before both teams were able to break a sweat in the 90-degrees Fahrenheit heat, Jhon Arias sent a slightly deflected crossing pass from the right corner that Cano headed into the net for a 1-0 lead. The Brazilians appeared to add to their lead late in the first half, but Ignacio’s header into the net was waived off due to being offside.

Hercules added a late wide open goal in stoppage time for the final 2-0 margin.

Milan controlled the time of possession throughout the match and certainly had its chances, but couldn’t will the ball into the net.

It was one bad bounce after another.

As the match was winding down Fluminense players jumped up and down on the sideline. That celebration carried over to the field after the match, where they hopped up and down in unison in a huddle, their arms wrapped around each other.

Key moment

Lautaro Martinez had a point-blank shot in the second half to tie the game, but the ball hit off the upright. He couldn’t believe his bad luck and shook his head in disbelief.

Takeaways

Fluminense played more poised throughout the match and became the second Brazilian club team to reach the quarterfinals, joining Palmeiras.

Noteworthy

The match was not well attended. Stadium officials invited patrons from the upper deck to come sit down in the lower deck, which was still half empty.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

Steve Reed, The Associated Press