Real Madrid begin their Club World Cup campaign with a clash with Saudi side Al Hilal that marks a first game in charge for Xabi Alonso.
The former Bayer Leverkusen boss left the Bundesliga club to return to Madrid, a club with whom he won five trophies as a player.
He’ll be hoping to win his first as a coach at the expanded Club World Cup, with this the inaugural edition of the new 32-team format.
Madrid are heavy favourites to start with a win against an Al Hilal side playing under Simone Inzaghi for the first time. Inzaghi left Inter Milan to take charge of Al Hilal following the Nerazzurri’s 5-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final last month.
And former Liverpool midfielder Alonso has handed a Madrid debut to a player who controversially left the Reds to join Los Blancos, as well to another new signing at the back.
Real Madrid team news
Trent Alexander-Arnold makes his Madrid bow as he starts at right-back following his move from Liverpool. Dean Huijsen, the Spain centre-back signed from Bournemouth, is also named in the XI for his debut.
His England colleague Jude Bellingham, set to have shoulder surgery after the tournament, unsurprisingly starts in the midfield three.
But there is a more unfamiliar name up front, with Gonzalo Garcia playing through the middle in place of Kylian Mbappe, who has been dealing with an illness.
Garcia has made just six appearances in his Madrid career, scoring his first goal for the club in the Copa del Rey in February.
Real Madrid: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Asencio, Huijsen, Fran Garcia; Tchouameni, Valverde, Bellingham; Vinicius, Rodrygo, Garcia.
Substitutes: Aguado, Andres, Ceballos, Diaz, Fortea, Fran, Guler, Lucas Vazquez, Lunin, Martin, Modric, Munoz, Ramon, Yusi.
Club World Cup Free Bets – Best UK Betting Sites & Betting Offers For Real Madrid vs Al Hilal
Al Hilal team news
Inzaghi has unsurprisingly selected a familiar face, picking Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in the starting XI.
Milinkovic-Savic played under Inzaghi at Lazio from 2016 until the latter’s departure for Inter in 2021.
But Inzaghi has not been able to call on another Serbian star, with Aleksandar Mitrovic missing out.
Mitrovic, who scored 19 goals in the Saudi Pro League in 2024-25 is reported to be dealing with a muscle injury, meaning Marcos Leonardo leads the line.
Al Hilal: Bono; Cancelo, Al Tambakti, Koulibaly, Lodi; Neves, Milinkovic-Savic, Salem Al Dawsari; Malcom, Marcos Leonardo, Nasser Al Dawsari.
Substitutes: Abu Rasen, Al Bulayhi, Khalifah Al Dawsari, Al Ghannam, Al Hadhood, Al Hamdan, Al Harbi, Al Juwayr, Al Qahtani, Al Rubaie, Al Yami, Kanno, Lajami.
