Kylian Mbappe is out of Real Madrid ’s opening Club World Cup face Al-Hilal on Wednesday.
Xabi Alonso starts his tenure as the new manager of Madrid when they face last season's winners of the Saudi Pro League in Group H.
Nevertheless, Mbappe won’t be part of the starting lineup for Madrid as he has been excluded from the team for the match at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
The 26-year-old player, who netted an impressive 43 goals during his initial season at Madrid, did not attend Tuesday’s practice session prior to the game against Al-Hilal due to having a fever.
'Although Kylian felt somewhat improved, it wasn't sufficient,' Alonso stated following Tuesday’s training session.
'It's preferable for him not to train. We'll wait till the last moment, and make our decision tomorrow.'
With Mbappe not playing, Alonso has chosen to begin with the young 21-year-old forward Gonzalo Garcia, who has only featured six times for Madrid at the senior level, along with Vinicius Junior and Rodryngo up front.
In the previous season, Garcia netted 25 league goals for Real Madrid Castilla.
Real Madrid versus Al-Hilal team selections
Real Madrid: Courtois; Trent, Asensio, Huijsen, Garcia; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Rodryngo, Gonzalo, Vinícius Junior
Subs: Lunin, Fran González, Lucas Vázquez, Fortea, Jacobo Ramón, Aguado, Yusi, Modrić, Chema Andrés, Mario Martín, Ceballos, Víctor Muñoz, Brahim, Arda Güler
Al-Hilal: U2; Cancelo, Koulibaly, Tambakti, Lodi; Neves, Nasser Al-Dawsari; Malcom, Milinkovic-Savic, Salem Al-Dawsari; Marcos Leonardo
Subs: Rasen Abu, Rubaie Al, Bulayhi Al, Dawsari Al Khalifah, Hadhood Al, Hamdan Al, Harbi Al, Juwayr Al, Qahtani Al, Yami Al, Kanno, Lajami
For Madrid, their two new additions from this summer, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen, have been selected to start in the match against Al-Hilal.
In the meantime, Al-Hilal will have to do without Aleksandar Mitrovic, as he is sidelined due to an injury.
The ex-Fulham forward netted 24 times across all matches for the Saudi Pro League club during the previous season.
Al-Hilal’s encounter with Madrid will mark the debut as head coach for their newly appointed manager Simone Inzaghi. who departed from Inter two weeks back after leading them to the Champions League final, which they lost 5-0 against Paris Saint-Germain .
'It’s only normal that there would be many expectations for our initial game, and we made every effort to prepare as thoroughly as we could,' Inzaghi stated during his press briefing on Tuesday.
'It's accurate that the duration was insufficient since we only managed four practice sessions, yet the athletes demonstrated significant dedication and a evident willingness to adjust to our fresh approach.'
'A1 Hilal is a seasoned team with an impressive roster of talented players whose skills surpass what I had anticipated. There’s excellent chemistry among both the homegrown and international athletes on our squad. Let's look forward to fan backing as we continue this journey together.'
In another match from Group H, Pachuca from Mexico will face off against Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday evening.
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