Real Madrid is undoubtedly facing its most difficult match of the Club World Cup. The semifinals are here, and the Whites will face Luis Enrique’s PSG in what is an early final of the tournament. Both teams come into the match with important players missing and with the dream of reaching Sunday’s final. One team is in the process of change and rebuilding, but with great potential, and the other is well established and looking to cap off a memorable year.
The match of the World Cup
Xabi Alonso is expecting a “great match” in the Club World Cup semifinals between his Real Madrid and PSG, led by his compatriot Luis Enrique. “A great match, a great match. I think we had a Champions League rival today and now we’re facing the reigning Champions League champions, who have been on a very positive run in recent months,” he said after beating Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals.
It was a victory with a heart-stopping finish, one that we must learn from, as both the coach and Courtois said. “That’s football, all the teams here compete until the end and the game can go crazy. We didn’t give them any chances, just long-range shots. But the game changes and you get nervous. We have to learn to kill games with possession, not always look for the counterattack. We have to control games better,” he insisted.
The Whites took a 2-0 lead and had the game under control, but it became complicated in the final minutes when Real Madrid made it 3-1 and then conceded a penalty that gave Borussia their second goal, which could have forced extra time in the dying seconds had it not been for a great save by Thibaut Courtois.
Morbid curiosity with Mbappé
Kylian Mbappé will be reunited with his former team, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), in the Club World Cup semifinals, almost a year after his signing and the start of a war between the club and the player. His departure did not hurt PSG, which finally won the coveted Champions League that has eluded the striker. It will be a match with added intrigue due to their reunion, and there is already the possibility that the French player will return to the starting lineup after Gonzalo’s rise and his acute gastroenteritis.
Absences in the semifinal
Dean Huijsen, who has been a fixture for Xabi Alonso, will not be in the final. The young center back was shown a red card for bringing down Guirassy as he entered the area. Initially, everything points to the coach opting for Raúl Asencio, with whom Huijsen partnered in the first games of the World Cup when the youth player made a couple of mistakes that saw him dropped from the starting line-up. On the other hand, against Bayern Munich, PSG suffered two losses for the semi-final: Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernández were sent off. Everything indicates that the Ecuadorian defender will be replaced by Brazilian Lucas Beraldo. There are two doubts regarding the rest of the team: the presence of Fabián Ruiz and the possible inclusion of Ousmane Dembelé.
Possible Real Madrid XI
Goalkeeper: Courtois
Defenders: Fran García, Rüdiger, Asencio, Trent
Midfielders: Tchouaméni, Bellingham, Valverde, Arda Güler
Forwards: Vinicius and Gonzalo
Possible PSG XI
Goalkeeper: Donnarumma
Defenders: Mendes, Marquinhos, Beraldo, Hakimi
Midfielders: Fabián, Vitinha, Neves
Forwards: Kvaratskhelia, Dembelé, and Doué