July 1 – Inter Milan’s Club World Cup campaign came to a limp end on Monday evening as Fluminense secured a 2-0 win in Charlotte, knocking the Nerazurri out at the Round of 16 stage and sending a second Brazilian club into the quarter-finals.
Played in front of just 20,030 fans at the 74,867-capacity Bank of America Stadium, the match offered little redemption for Inter, still reeling from their 5-0 humiliation to Paris St-Germain in May’s Champions League final. Instead, it became another painful chapter in a year to forget.
Fluminense striker Germán Cano opened the scoring within two minutes, heading home from point-blank range after a deflected cross caught Inter’s defence napping. Goalkeeper Yann Sommer, again under scrutiny after his poor display in Munich, was beaten through the legs—a near-carbon copy of the kind of lapses that haunted Inter in that final.
Despite a reshuffle by new coach Cristian Chivu, Inter never found their rhythm.
Lautaro Martínez struggled through the first hour, but came alive after a series of substitutions gave him more freedom. He nearly equalised twice: first denied by a stunning point-blank stop from 44-year-old Fluminense keeper Fábio, then rattling the post seconds later.
But just as Inter looked to tilt the momentum, Fluminense struck again. Substitute Hércules curled in a brilliant second from the edge of the box against the run of play, sealing the result with 3 minutes to go.
Fluminense join Palmeiras as the two remaining CONMEBOL clubs in the competition, and will now face Saudi giants Al-Hilal in the quarter-finals at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium on Friday.
This tournament continues to mean more to the South American sides—both on the pitch and in the stands. While European clubs have struggled with the heat and pitch conditions, Brazilian supporters have travelled in force, transforming host cities into de facto home venues. Inter, by contrast, looked flat, uninspired, and overwhelmed.
As Barcelona learned in the Champions League, Inter are never out until the final whistle—but this time, they simply had no answer to Fluminense’s energetic attack and resolute, if ageing, defence.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1751402194labto1751402194ofdlr1751402194owedi1751402194sni@g1751402194niwe.1751402194yrrah1751402194