February 9 – A depleted Real Madrid still breezed past African champions Al Ahly 4-1 to set up a Club World Cup final against Saudi club Al Hilal on Saturday in Morocco.
Vinícius Júnior, Federico Valverde, Rodrygo and Sergio Arribas were on target for the European team who were without six injured players, including striker Karim Benzema, defender Éder Militão and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
“We lowered the intensity and suffered a bit, but in the end, we could manage it,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. “We go into the final very motivated.”
His team have been struggling back home and the Club World Cup represents a welcome break to gain some confidence. Having won the competition in its modern incarnation five times, Madrid are on familiar territory.
In the final they will face Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia. The Belgian pair of Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard will not feature in the showpiece match in Rabat, but even so Madrid will remain strong favourites. The Asian champions shocked Brazil’s Flamengo, South America’s top club, 3-2 on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, FIFA and local organisers have shifted the third-place match between Flamengo and Al Ahly away from Rabat to Tangier. In a statement, FIFA said: “The host country has decided to move the match from Morocco’s capital Rabat to preserve the pitch of Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium for the final between Real Madrid and Al Hilal at 20.00 on the same day, and to guarantee the sporting quality of both remaining games for players and spectators.”
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