Caught between the disappointment of a season that just ended and the renewed hope of a new campaign, Real Madrid will begin its 2025 FIFA Club World Cup run on Wednesday in Florida, taking on Saudi side Al Hilal in their tournament debut.
The spotlight is firmly on Xabi Alonso, who returns to Madrid as head coach after an impressive spell at Bayer Leverkusen. Alonso, who played 246 official matches with Los Blancos before finishing his career at Bayern Munich, now steps into the spotlight as the club’s new leader—perhaps even more so than Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen, both set to debut in the starting lineup.
With limited time to instill his tactical approach, Alonso is already dealing with a number of injuries. He won’t be able to count on Rüdiger, Carvajal, Militao, Mendy, Alaba, or Camavinga, so his first starting eleven will be fairly predictable—assuming Kylian Mbappé is available.
Mbappé still a doubt
The French star’s availability remains uncertain. He missed the team’s final training session due to a fever and was advised to rest—skipping even the official FIFA photo session.
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Mbappé absent from last training before Club World Cup debut: Will he play against Al-Hilal?
While the original plan was to start Mbappé alongside Vinícius Jr. and Rodrygo in the front three, Madrid’s staff have made it clear: they won’t take any risks. If he’s not 100%, he’ll sit this one out.
A familiar opponent
This will be the second official meeting between Real Madrid and Al Hilal. The two sides previously met in the 2022 Club World Cup final, held in February 2023, where Madrid won 5–3. Vinícius scored twice, Valverde added two more, and Benzema netted once.
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FIFA Club World Cup 2025 TV Schedule in the USA and Streaming Links
From that Ancelotti-led squad, Tchouaméni, Valverde, and Vinícius are expected to start again, while several others from that lineup—Lunin, Carvajal, Rüdiger, Alaba, Camavinga, and Modrić—remain on the roster. This tournament will likely mark Modrić’s final appearance in a Madrid shirt.
Projected lineups – Real Madrid vs Al Hilal
Real Madrid: Courtois; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Asencio, Huijsen, Fran García; Tchouaméni, Valverde, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinícius Jr., and Mbappé or Brahim Díaz.
Al Hilal: Bono; Cancelo, Koulibaly, Al Bulayhi, Renan Lodi; Rúben Neves, Milinković-Savić, Leonardo; Malcom, Al-Dawsari, Mitrović.
