WASHINGTON (AP) — Al Hilal dominated possession but Salzburg's defense held in a scoreless draw on Sunday that meant that Group H would come down a pair of consequential upcoming matches in the Club World Cup.
Earlier in the day, Real Madrid defeated Pachuca 3-1, eliminating the Liga MX club. But with the tie between Al Hilal and Salzburg, the group's spots in the knockout round remained up for grabs.
Salzburg will face a challenging match against Real Madrid in Philadelphia on Thursday with Kylian Mbappe likely return after missing Real Madrid’s first two matches, according to coach Xabi Alonso. Al Hilal will face Pachuca in Nashville the same day.
Al Hilal, the runners up at the 2022 Club World Cup, pressured Salzburg from the start, with nearly 62 percent possession through the first half. They took 10 shots, but had just one on target. For the game, Al Hilal had four shots on goal.
It was clear that Al Hilal was missing the finishing touch of striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has missed both of the team’s Club World Cup matches with a muscle injury.
The announced attendance At Audi Field was 16,167 fans, with big swaths of the crowd clad in Al Hilal's bright blue. In the final moments, the crowd chanted for Al Hilal, urging the team to score.
Key Moment
Al Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou stopped a nearly point blank shot from Salzburg’s John Mellberg early in the second half. Moments later, Salzburg goalkeeper Christian Zawieschitzky saved a shot by Rúben Neves from outside the box as the game grew tense.
Takeaways
Al Hilal has proven resilient throughout its first two matches. The club drew 1-1 with Real Madrid in its opening match with Neves converting a penalty and Bounou saving a penalty attempt at the death.
What They Said
“I think it's important in these competitions not to lose. We played today against a very good team. They defended very well, they didn't give us a lot of space. So it was difficult to find a solution. I think the draw is a very good result to play the third game with options,” — Al Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
“We have four points after two matches and the boys are sitting in the room and they''re disappointed. I think about it differently. We played against a very strong opponent, Al Hilal, and we showed good quality, we defended very well. We did it well with all the young players,” Salzburg coach Thomas Letsch said.
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The Associated Press
