Real Madrid faces Mexican side Pachuca on Sunday night in their second group stage match of the Club World Cup. The Whites have not gotten off to a good start in this new World Cup format, drawing their first match against Al Hilal.
Real Madrid must beat Pachuca if they want to remain in contention for the Club World Cup.
However, Pachuca is coming off a loss to RB Salzburg in its first group stage match, so both teams must win if they want to keep their dreams of lifting the world championship trophy alive. The Madridistas are looking for the three points that will catapult them to first place in Group H. Pachuca, for the moment, has not managed to earn any points.
With the outlook looking bleak for now, the Whites will test their strength against Mexican side Pachuca, one of the biggest and strongest teams in Liga MX. It is true that the players need time to understand the new ideas of their coach, Xabi Alonso, to adjust to the pressure and to know what to do with and without the ball.
Xabi Alonso is not considering many changes
If the match against Al Hilal had been a preseason game, what we saw would have been logical. The problem is that this intercontinental tournament has come at a time when the schedule was already packed, so the match was official and the draw complicates Real Madrid’s qualification. There are no excuses; they must win if they want to start the new ‘Xabi Alonso era’ on the right foot. Or at least get as far as possible.
For the match, the coach is not considering many changes to the team, which in principle would not affect the formation, although he is considering making some changes that worked so well for him at Bayer Leverkusen.
For Real Madrid vs. Pachuca, they will continue to be without Kylian Mbappé, who is recovering from the severe gastroenteritis that even forced him to go to the hospital. The Frenchman is expected to return against RB Salzburg. Without the Frenchman, the Tolosa-born coach is looking to other names to fill the starting eleven. And yes, Gonzalo García has another opportunity to start, given his great performance against Al Hilal.
Despite the disappointment of last Wednesday’s debut, Xabi Alonso is expected to stick with the same starting eleven. With Courtois in goal, the defense will consist of the two star signings, Huijsen and Alexander-Arnold, who will be accompanied by Fran García and Raúl Asencio. The Canary Islands center back has recovered from his fever and will be able to start.
In midfield, Valverde, Tchouameni, and Bellingham are expected to start, along with Arda Güler, who impressed in his first game and even came close to scoring a spectacular goal.
The young Madrid gem is beginning to shine. He already did so little by little under Carlo Ancelotti, but with Xabi Alonso he is expected to play many more minutes than under the Italian coach. He is a type of player that the coach likes a lot, similar to Florian Wirtz, but left-footed.
Finally, Vinicius will continue up front. The coach knows that the first game was not what was expected of him, but he is confident that he will be able to show his worth in the Club World Cup against Pachuca.
The Brazilian will share the spotlight with youth player Gonzalo García, who will continue to lead the attack after his good performance against Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal. The Madrid native scored the opening goal and was named man of the match.
The other absences for Real Madrid are Mbappé, Endrick, Carvajal, Mendy, Camavinga, Alaba, Militao, and Rüdiger.
Real Madrid’s official line-up:
Goalkeeper: Courtois
Defenders: Alexander-Arnold, Asencio, Huijsen, Fran García.
Midfielders: Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham, Arda Güler.
Forwards: Gonzalo, Vinicius.