Preview: Real Madrid and Juventus face off at the Club World Cup
The European giants meet to decide a much-coveted place in the quarter-finals
By Filip Mishov
Real Madrid’s revolution under Xabi Alonso is fully underway
Even though Xabi Alonso‘s tenure at Real Madrid began with an uninspiring draw against Al Hilal in the opening round of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025’s group phase, Vinícius Júnior & co. performances progressively improved, and ultimately, culminated in securing a convincing win against Salzburg to top group H. Unlike the 5-time world champions, Juventus faced a reality check upon meeting Manchester City, as Pep Guardiola‘s new-look squad ran riot against the Old Lady and left Igor Tudor wondering why he left form player Kenan Yıldız on the bench, resulting in the Turin-based club finishing in second place.
The European powerhouses have not met each other since the Champions League’s quarter-finals back in 2018 and the 2017 final before that with the 15-time European champions coming off victorious on both occasions. Only Daniel Carvajal, Lucas Vázquez, Luka Modrić and Daniele Rugani are still present at their respective clubs from the dramatic night at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu and the latter three are expected to play a part in the round of 16 match in Miami.
Key players
With the newly-appointed Spanish coach still fine tuning tactics and interchanging between 4-3-3 and 3-5-2, it is becoming evident that Vinícius Júnior will continue to play a key role regardless, whether as a left winger or as a free-roaming forward, as Los Blancos’ No. 7 builds an unlikely partnership with the talented striker, Gonzalo García in the absence of Kylian Mbappé.
For Juventus, the US-based tournament is possibly Dušan Vlahović‘s last hurrah in the White and Blacks’ shirt or even one might say the Serbian striker’s final audition on the international stage ahead of a pivotal summer for his career. With the 25-year-old’s contract up at the end of next season, Vlahović is battling to be offered a new deal or to attract suitors, and maybe his time in Turin has not gone as well as everyone expected, but his sublime finish in the defeat against the Cityzens displayed his natural goalscoring instinct once again.
Team news
Thibaut Courtois welcomed back Antonio Rüdiger in front of him, but Éder Militao, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy, Daniel Carvajal, Eduardo Camavinga and Endrick‘s comebacks are still some way off, while French captain, Kylian Mbappé is back in training and might finally return to play his first minutes under Xabi Alonso.
Nicolo Savona suffered an ankle injury in the defeat to Manchester City and the Swede is expected to miss the match on Tuesday at the least, while it remains to be seen whether Igor Tudor will recall Timothy Weah and Samuel Mbangula who were engaged in transfer negotiations with Nottingham Forest.
Prediction
It is hard to look past Xabi Alonso’s revolution at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and with Kylian Mbappé’s imminent return to the pitch, I expect a win and a place in the quarter-finals for Madrid with more than a few goals involved, as has regularly been the case in their matches against Juventus.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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