Simeone Inzaghi is confident Al Hilal have shown their credentials as one of the best teams in the world after booking their place in the round of 16 of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Afrosport reports.
The Saudi Arabian giants were the only Asian side to progress after their 2-0 win over Pachuca of Mexico in Nashville on Thursday and will now take on English heavyweights Manchester City in the next round.
The team also finished unbeaten as they held Real Madrid and RB Salzburg to draws, and also conceded one goal, which was the best defensive record in the group stage with Paris Saint-Germain and Monterrey.
All these were done under the watch of Inzaghi, who became manager of the team prior to the start of the tournament after he left Serie A giants Inter Milan.
“Our goal was to achieve (being in) the group of the best teams in the world,” he said.
“It was not an easy task, but the team was well united. It fought during the three games for a great objective… we were not coming here just to have fun, we were coming here to play a World Cup and we wanted to reach this stage.
“Now we’ll have to play against Manchester City… It’s one of the greatest teams in the world. These are the games where you can improve and you can mature as a team, so I’m very proud.”
Among the elite ๐คฉ
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ for the round of 16 โ pic.twitter.com/HDNDAulGbO
โ AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) June 27, 2025
Al-Hilal are owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), have signed a number of quality players over the last two years, including Neymar, Malcom, Ruben Neves, Marcos Leonardo, Kalidou Koulibaly, Yassine Bounou and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The team lifted the domestic treble of the Saudi Pro League, Kingโs Cup and Super during the 2023-24 season.
