Al Hilal earned a point and made their point. If anyone was questioning just how competitive the Saudi Pro League is on the global stage, they were left in no doubt after Al Hilal’s pulsating 1-1 draw with Real Madrid C.F. in their FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ opener.
Although Real Madrid nearly stole the game with a last-minute penalty which was saved by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, the La Liga giants could have had few complaints after they were held to a draw by Simone Inzaghi’s side.
Forced to play without their top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic, who sat out the match with a muscle injury, the Blues not only took the game to Real Madrid at the Hard Rock Stadium, they dominated their illustrious opponents for much of the contest in the South Florida sun.
They almost opened the scoring early on through Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and then had a Renan Lodi effort ruled out for offside. When Real Madrid did take the lead through academy product Gonzalo Garcia, it came against the run of play.
Al Hilal’s response was swift, with Ruben Neves coolly converting a penalty past Thibaut Courtois after Raul Asencio pulled down Marcos Leonardo in the box. Arda Guler helped inspire Real Madrid after the break but when Federico Valverde’s 92nd-minute penalty was saved by Bounou, it felt like justice for Inzaghi’s men.
“We are very confident players, we are very good players. Everyone of us is international and we can show against all the teams in the world (how good we are),” Al Hilal full-back Joao Cancelo told FIFA. “It is very difficult to play against Vinicius, Rodrygo, Modric, Bellingham, Valverde but we played against the best players in the world and (competed).”
Cancelo hailed the immediate impact Inzaghi made following his recent arrival from FC Internazionale Milano, whom he guided to the UEFA Champions League final. “We know the Italian culture, they are very tactical,” he added. “I think he has different ideas than our previous coach but he is a coach with very good ideas. We need to rest now for the next game.”
Cancelo’s sentiments were shared by his team-mates Salem Al Dawsari and Hassan Al Tambakti, who are confident that Al Hilal can go far in the global showpiece.
“Our ambition was to win, but we played a good match. We didn’t come here for tourism, we came from Saudi Arabia to win and make our country proud,” Al Dawsari said. “Our goal is to reach the Round of 16, then take things step by step. Today, we proved that the Saudi league has quality and talent, we played a great game.”
Al Tambakti added: “It was a very tough match for both teams. Real Madrid is a big club, but Al Hilal is also a big team capable of facing any side in the world. The best is yet to come.”
