Real Madrid faces Salzburg on Thursday (early Friday morning in Spain) in the third match of the Club World Cup group stage, a match in which the Whites are playing for the lead in the group but which also poses a real danger for Xabi Alonso‘s side, who could be knocked out of the competition. Although the Whites have everything going for them, a bad result could mean the end of the road for the team.
Real Madrid, favorites
Real Madrid are clear favorites in Thursday’s match against Salzburg, which will be played at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia at 9 p.m. local time (3 a.m. Friday in Spain), but they must be careful if they don’t want to get a nasty surprise. Xabi Alonso’s men are coming off a comfortable win over Pachuca, playing the entire match with one man down, and the team is expected to continue to make progress with the arrival of Xabi Alonso, who is racking up the miles with his new players in a forced, fast break-in period that should gradually begin to bear fruit.
This is how Group H stands
Real Madrid leads Group H of the Club World Cup with 4 points, the same as its rival, Salzburg. Both teams have one draw and one win, against Al-Hilal and Pachuca respectively, but the Whites are ahead on goal difference. For their part, Al-Hilal have two points after drawing against the Whites and the Austrians, while Pachuca are bottom with zero points and no chance of qualifying for the next round.
When Real Madrid would be out
Real Madrid’s chances of advancing to the next round are simple: they don’t have to lose, and even if they do, they could still qualify as long as Al-Hilal doesn’t win their match against Pachuca. If Xabi Alonso‘s side draw their match, they would be ahead of Salzburg on goal difference, which would guarantee their passage, as well as first place, provided the Saudis do not win by a margin of three goals.
If the Whites draw and Al-Hilal win, there would be athree-way tie on five points. In this scenario, as we have already mentioned, Real Madrid would always be ahead of Salzburg, and the Austrians would be out if the Saudi Arabian team wins by two goals or more. Finally, if Real Madrid wins, it would secure first place in the group with seven points.
Xabi Alonso is not going to take any risks
The chances of Real Madrid being eliminated are very slim, but Xabi Alonso does not want any surprises and will field the strongest possible starting eleven to take on Lincoln Financial Field. The Basque coach already said in a press conference that “this is not a tournament for experimenting,” and he will not do so. He knows that there is a lot at stake in these early days as Real Madrid coach and the primary objective is to advance to the next round.
Therefore, Real Madrid has it easy to reach the round of 16 of the Club World Cup, and all it has to do is not lose, but Xabi Alonso’s men are not going to speculate and will go all out to take the three points and secure first place in the group and put themselves in contention for the tournament. Of course, given the Whites’ potential opponents if they finish top of the group, the road ahead will be quite complicated.