Vinicius's surprise helped Real Madrid beat Salzburg to reach the last 16 of the Club World Cup.

 Vinicius Junior's goal sends Real Madrid into the Club World Cup...

PHILADELPHIA, June 26 (Reuters) - Vinicius Junior's goal helped Real Madrid secure top spot in Group H and advance to the last 16 of the Club World Cup with a 3-0 win over RB Salzburg on Thursday.

The Spaniards finished with seven points, two ahead of Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal, who beat Pachuca 2-0 in the day's other group game. Salzburg of Austria is eliminated with four points, and Mexican side Pachuca failed to earn a single point.

Real Madrid next play Group G runners-up Juventus at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium on Tuesday, while Al-Hilal face Manchester City in Orlando on Monday.

In a steady rain in Philadelphia, Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid dominated the field against a lackluster Salzburg, which created few clear-cut chances.

Salzburg's 18-year-old goalkeeper, Christian Zawiszycki, was sharp from the start and made a point-blank save to deny Vinicius' first opener.

The Brazilian forward squandered several more chances, while Gonzalo Garcia also missed a golden opportunity from Vinicius' cross near the half-hour mark.

Finally, in the 40th minute, Jude Bellingham threaded a perfectly timed pass to Vinicius, who released the ball from the edge of the box, bypassing two defenders and leaving Zawiszycki with no chance.

Vinicius played a key role in Real's second goal in first-half stoppage time, picking up a loose ball from inside the box and delivering a daring back-heel pass to Federico Valverde, who was able to tap the ball in from close range.

Real Madrid maintained control in the second half but continued to squander chances in front of goal, and Gonzalo Garcia sealed the win with a quick counterattack on the Salzburg goalkeeper in the 84th minute.

"I'm very happy with the goal and the assist. But now the most important part, the knockout, and we're looking forward to it," Vinicius told DAZN.

"The style of play was good. We played very well in the first half, but in the second half we were a little slow. It's normal considering the games ahead, where we can't make mistakes."

Real could also recall French forward Kylian Mbappe for the knockout round, who missed the entire group stage through illness.

Mbappe returned to training on Wednesday after suffering from acute gastroenteritis last week. However, Alonso said the decision had been made to leave him out of the match against Salzburg to allow him to fully recover for the knockout stage.

😀RB Salzburg vs Real Madrid | FIFA Club World Cup Match.

💓Thank you for visiting my website.

💔Thank you very much for helping me.