Internazionale was eliminated from the round of 16 of the Club World Cup in the United States on Monday. Dutch international Stefan de Vrij’s mistake led to a surprising 0-2 defeat against Brazilian club Fluminense.
De Vrij lost possession in his own half in the third minute, after which Fluminense scored. It happened in a curious way. A low cross from the right was deflected by an Inter player, after which the ball went high into the air.
Denzel Dumfries thought goalkeeper Yann Sommer would pick up the ball, but the Swiss Inter keeper stayed in his goal. As a result, Germán Cano was able to head in from close range.
Fluminense thought they would make it 0-2 just before half-time, but Ignácio’s goal was disallowed for offside. On the other hand, Inter came close to equalizing, but De Vrij of all people failed to get the ball in from close range. The 44-year-old keeper Fabio and the post also stood in the way of the 1-1. Hércules scored the decisive 0-2 in extra time.
Due to the elimination, the Inter players can finally go on vacation. The club from Milan went through a long season in which no prize was won. Inter had to leave the national title to Napoli and lost the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain hopelessly with 5-0.
Fluminense will play Manchester City or Al Hilal in the quarter-finals on Friday, who will face each other in Orlando on Monday night (Dutch time). Paris Saint-Germain-Bayern Munich and Palmeiras-Chelsea are the other matches in the quarter-finals.