Veterans Marcelo and Felipe Melo key to Fluminense beating Al Ahly in Club World Cup semifinal

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Fluminense’s Marcelo, center, and coach Fernando Diniz Silva, left, celebrate at the end of the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. Fluminense won 2-0. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Fluminense’s Jhon Arias scores the opening goal from the penalty spot during the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Fluminense’s Jhon Arias, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Fluminense’s Marcelo leaves the pitch after getting injured during the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz Silva gestures during the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Fluminense’s Felipe Melo tries to tackle Al Ahly’s Percy Tau, left, during the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Fluminense goalkeeper Fabio makes a save during the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Al Ahly’s Kahraba, center, tries to score during the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Fluminense’s Marcelo grimaces on the ground after getting injured during the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Fluminense’s Jhon Arias, center, runs celebrating after scoring the opening goal during the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Fluminense fans celebrate on the stands at the end of the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. Fluminense won 2-0. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Fluminense’s John Kennedy celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Al Ahly’s Emam Ashour reaches for the ball in front of Fluminense’s Jhon Arias, right, during the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Fans on the stands wait for the start of the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Fluminense’s Andre, left, tries to block a shot from Al Ahly’s Hussein Elshahat during the Soccer Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense FC and Al Ahly FC at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

By GRAHAM DUNBAR

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The wily guile of defender Marcelo won the penalty that helped send Fluminense’s veteran team to the Club World Cup final after beating Al Ahly 2-0 on Monday.

Marcelo’s fine footwork at the edge of the Al Ahly penalty area teased forward Percy Tau into the tackle that put Jhon Arias on the spot to convert a 71st-minute penalty.

Fluminense sealed victory in the 90th, when substitute John Kennedy scored with a curling left-foot shot.

The Brazilian club will play Manchester City or Urawa Red Diamonds in the final on Friday, trying to give South America just a second Club World Cup title in 17 years.

Al Ahly, whose noisy red-clad fans made up most of a near-35,000 crowd, will play a third-place game on Friday against the loser of the other semifinal. It is played on Tuesday at the same King Abdullah Sports City stadium.

While Marcelo helped create for Fluminense at one end, the 40-year-old defender Felipe Melo and 43-year-old goalkeeper Fábio protected at the other.

Felipe Melo produced a standout moment of the first half, racing back toward goal to tackle Tau, who had been clear in space and was poised to shoot. Felipe Melo rose to his feet and shouted in satisfaction.

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Fábio’s calm and precise positional sense let him save repeatedly from Al Ahly’s 18 goal attempts.

“Players like Marcelo, I think, were decisive, especially for the penalty,” Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz said in translated comments. “Felipe Melo also played brilliantly, he was absolutely in control.”

Fluminense and Al Ahly presented a throwback look at a competition dominated for two decades by the wealthiest European clubs who have hired waves of global talent.

A team of 11 South Americans including nine Brazilians started against 11 Africans including nine from Egypt for the Cairo club.

Veteran Brazil internationals Marcelo — a five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid — and Felipe Melo are being rewarded again for coming home from long careers in Europe to enjoy late-career blooms with the Copa Libertadores winner.

Though Fluminense was outshot 11 to three in the half, both efforts by its Colombian winger Arias struck the left-hand post of goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy.

Arias finally scored his penalty after running at a curious angle parallel to the goal before he stopped, paused then placed a right-foot shot beyond El Shenawy diving to his right.

After the game, Diniz repeatedly cited the short-cut grass and slick, wet surface as being so different from the fields they find in Brazil that it caused his team to make too many mistakes in the first half.

A rare European element in the game was Al Ahly’s Swiss coach, Marcel Koller, dressed all in black standing pitchside in stark contrast to the vivid scarlet-red outfit of Diniz, the coach who is doing double duty this season with the Brazil team.

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

GRAHAM DUNBAR

Dunbar is an Associated Press sports news reporter in Geneva, Switzerland. He focuses on the governing bodies, institutions and politics of international sports.