Flamengo head coach, Jorge Jesus, praised his former club Al Hilal as he prepares his team for the Club World Cup semi-final against the Saudi Arabian side on Tuesday.

“Al Hilal has a squad that can face Flamengo and we are conscious of that. We believe that we can be in the final, but we respect Al Hilal,” said Jesus, when asked to comment on potentially facing Liverpool in the final of the competition.

“I don’t want to talk about Liverpool, I am interested to in talking about Al Hilal. I am not playing against Liverpool,” added Jesus

Also speaking at the press conference was Flamengo defender, Rafinha, who warned against complacency in his side as “Brazilian clubs labelled as favourites … did not advance (to final of competition).”

“Fans and media imagine a final between Flamengo and Liverpool – and it’s the final that us Brazilians want to see – let’s be realistic,” he added.