An hour and a half before kick off, Real Madrid has shared the starting line-up for the semi-final match against Paris Saint-Germain at Club World Cup... with an unfortunate change at the last minute. Trent Alexander-Arnold, who joined from Liverpool to Real Madrid just in time for the Club World Cup, is missing from the team. The English right-back is not on the starting XI, nor on the call for substitute.
As reported by Spanish radio station Cope, Alexander-Arnold suffered a "setback" during yesterday's training. He was in doubt for today's match, and indeed he has not been called. Currently, it is unknown if he would be fit for the final against Chelsea on Sunday in the case if Madrid beats Paris.
<social>https://x.com/realmadriden/status/1943000086037795228</social>
It is a big blow for Real Madrid, who has also missed defender Dean Huijsen (to compensate the absences of William Pacho and Lucas Hernández at PSG), and will have to try with Valverde as right back and Tchouameni as centre back.
The starting line up is made up of Courtois at the goal, Valverde, Rüdiger, Asencio, Fran García as defenders; Arda Güler, Tchouameni, Bellingham as midfielders; Mbappé, Gonzalo, and Vinicius as the strikers: Xabi Alonso has bet on the homegrown player Gonzalo García, the top scorer of the competition, and will test him alongside Mbappé and Vinícius for the first time. An experiment never before tested, against the strongest rival possible...