Chelsea vs Al Hilal LIVE: Club World Cup result, final score and reaction tonight

There’s new technology being trialed in this edition of the Club World Cup. Limb-tracking offside technology is being used in Abu Dhabi.

The semi-automated offside technology was first tested during the FIFA Arab Cup in Doha late last year. Limb-tracking technology relies on a dedicated camera system - installed under the roof of the stadium - that captures the movement of all the players and the ball.

Up to 29 data points per player are provided, and they make up each player’s animated skeleton to judge which part of the body is furthest forward.

The limb-tracking data extracted from the video is then sent to the operations rooms, and the calculated offside line and the moment the ball was kicked is provided to the replay operator in almost real-time.

VAR officials will then receive an almost instant alert telling them whether the technology determines a player is offside or not. The VAR will then validate the decision before relaying it to the on field referee.

Like Chelsea, Al-Hilal are making their second appearance in the Club World Cup following their debut in Qatar in 2019.

On that occasion, the Saudi side made it past the second round with a 1-0 win over African champions Esperance of Tunisia and led at half-time against Libertadores champions Flamengo in the semi-finals before the Brazilian club hit back after the interval to win 3-1.

Al-Hilal eventually finished fourth after losing a penalty shoot-out to Mexican outfit Monterrey in the third-place match following a 2-2 draw.

Mateo Kovacic spoke about his previous appearances in the Club World Cup and just how difficult it is to qualify for this competition. He said:

Mateo Kovacic is the only Chelsea to have previously won the Club World Cup having done so twice with Real Madrid in 2016 and 2017.

The Club World Cup is competed between the champions of each of the six continental confederations plus the league winner from the host nation.

Since the competition started in 2000 there have only been two winners from England – Manchester United in 2008 and Liverpool in 2019.

Nine of Al-Hilal’s players were recently called up for Saudi Arabia in the World Cup qualifiers and their international contingent includes Peru striker Andre Carrillo, Mali forward Moussa Marega, Colombia midfielder Gustavo Cuella and South Korea defender Jan Hyun-Soo.

Two of their other imports may be familiar to Chelsea supporters. Brazilian attacking midfielder Matheus Pereira scored twice in West Bromwich Albion’s shock 5-2 win at Stamford Bridge last season while Nigerian forward Odion Ighalo, who joined the club last week from their Riyadh rivals Al Shabab, played in Premier League games against the Blues for Watford and Manchester United.

Chelsea assistant manager Zsolt Low spoke about the attacking threats of Al-Hilal and says that Chelsea’s first priority is to stop the strikers playing their own game and take the attack to the Asian champions. He said:

Since the competition changed to its current format in 200, 11 of the last 16 Club World Cup finals have been contested between the South American and European champions.

Also the Uefa Champions League winners have made it to the final of the Club World Cup in 16 of the last 17 editions of the tournament.

European champions Chelsea face Asian champions Al Hilal in the semi-finals of the Fifa Club World Cup this afternoon, with a place in the Sunday’s final up for grabs in the United Arab Emirates.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of today’s match.

Chelsea’s semi-final opponents this evening, Al Hilal, have enjoyed plenty of success since their formation in 1957, winning 50 domestic trophies including a record 17 Saudi Professional League titles and a number of Arab regional competitions.

They have been crowned champions of Asia a record four times following their victories in the Asian Club Championship in 1991 and 2000 and the AFC Champions League in 2019 and 2021.

The Riyadh club could have won three consecutive Asian titles but their 2020 campaign was curtailed when a Covid-19 outbreak in their squad before their final group game forced them to withdraw from the competition.