Garcia aiming to emulate Raul after Club World Cup heroics for Madrid

Gonzalo Garcia is aiming to justify comparisons to Real Madrid legend Raul after his Club World Cup heroics for Los Blancos. 

Garcia has announced himself on the world stage with his performances in the competition, netting four goals in five games for Xabi Alonso's side so far. 

Indeed, the Spaniard is the only player to directly contribute to a goal in all of his team's matches in this year's competition (four goals, one assist). 

Garcia also became the youngest Madrid player to record a goal contribution in five straight starts since Jese (20 years, 355 days) in 2014.

The youngster is also the joint-top scorer at the tournament, level with Benfica's Angel Di Maria, Al-Hilal's Marcos Leonardo and Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy. 

Garcia's displays have seen him likened to Raul, who made 741 appearances for Madrid between 1994 and 2010 across all competitions, scoring 323 times for the club. 

And while not affected by the weight of the pressure of playing for the LaLiga giants, Garcia said that his current purple patch had him living the dream. 

"They [fans] are comparing me with Raul, a legend," Gonzalo told reporters. "If I can do half of what he did in this shirt, then it will be more than a dream.

"I have been working, waiting for a chance, but not in my dreams would I have thought of this.

"I don't feel a lot of pressure. I have been working and waiting for this moment.

"The coach, the players, the staff all give me a lot of confidence. Kylian [Mbappe] is almost, let's say, the best player in the world. I feel so lucky to share a pitch and training with him, to learn from him."

Madrid are preparing for their semi-final showdown with Champions League victors Paris Saint-Germain, which takes place this Thursday at the MetLife Stadium. 

It will be the 12th meeting between the two sides, with Madrid winning five of those matches to PSG's four (three draws). Both teams have scored 16 times in those games. 

PSG will take on Madrid for the fifth time in a knockout tie, with the Parisiens eliminating their Spanish opponents in their first two knockout encounters in the quarter-finals of the 1992-93 UEFA Cup and 1993-94 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. 

Madrid, however, have advanced in the last two meetings, in the last 16 of the Champions League in 2017-18 and 2021-22.

All four of PSG's wins in this year's Club World Cup have been by a margin of at least two goals, including a 6-0 aggregate score over their two knockout round matches.

They have also won their last four knockout round matches in all competitions by a total of 14-0, but Madrid have never lost a game in their 20 matches at the tournament (W17 D3). 

But Thibaut Courtois insisted that his team-mates must be better prepared to face the Ligue 1 champions after conceding two late goals in the quarter-final win against Dortmund.

"We have to analyse our game and then we will work for the next game," he said. "PSG are a great opponent, current Champions League winners and they had a great season.

"It will be a hard game, they like possession and they press well, so we will have to be prepared.

"The team is doing well. We press well, defend well, attack well. Sometimes we need more possession to kill the game. That is what we have to do better.

"We are getting better every game, learning more from the coach, putting what he wants in the game. It doesn't always happen, but we are getting better."