Defensive masterclass: Fluminense thwart Inter Milan en route to Club World Cup quarters

An impressive defensive performance, coupled with opportunistic counterattacking, helped Fluminense defeat Inter Milan 2-0 at the Bank of America Stadium on Monday in the Round of 16 at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

The Brazilian side scored early and frustrated their opposition, who had little answer for a well-organized back line determined to preserve the clean sheet.

On the other side of the pitch, Inter fell into the trap of slow, methodical play on the ball, betraying their overwhelming possession advantage with an uninspired attack that only sprang to life in the game's dying moments.

Even so, the Nerazzurri were held off the scoreboard and it was Fluminense who found the back of the net minutes before the final whistle, cementing a performance worthy of the victory.

Here are the key talking points from Fluminense's victory over Inter Milan, as seen by DAZN News.

Quick start

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We've seen several times throughout this tournament how much an early goal can set the tone for the rest of the game, and this was true again on Monday.

Fluminense's third-minute goal came after intense pressure from the Rio side to start the match, as they looked to catch an Inter team sleeping. It worked as Inter took too long to settle in following the opening whistle, and German Cano's opening strike set the tone for the remainder of the match as it allowed Fluminense's defence to take over against an at-times clueless Inter attack.

Too predictable

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There were large stretches of the match when Inter held the ball in Fluminense's half and stroked it around from side to side, probing for any kind of opening as the Brazilians calmly re-organized with each pass.

This led to a lop-sided possession statistic that favoured the Italians, who held 68% over the 90 minutes but saw their share of the possession soar as high as 75% early in the second half.

It mattered little as the Nerazzurri were all too predictable in their movements, allowing the defence to shift as needed and thwart any eventual forays into the final third with relative ease.

Not only did it show up in the final stats, as Inter put the same number of shots on target as Fluminense, but it was also reflected in the final score as Cristian Chivu's men hardly tested 44-year-old goalkeeper Fabio until the late stages of the match.

Leadership exemplified

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As noted, the Fluminense defence played as big a part in this result as the goal scorers did, as they were steadfast throughout.

Much of the credit has to go to Thiago Silva, who sat in the middle of a back three and marshalled his teammates excellently.

At 40 years old, it's obvious that the longtime Brazil international is slowing down, but his speed of thought and leadership have not fallen off at all. 

Fifteen years of playing at the top levels in Europe have given the iconic defender a wealth of experience that he is now sharing with his Fluminense teammates, who dutifully patrolled the back line alongside him and proved that — on this day, at least — age is but a number.

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