Salzburg-Real Madrid: Whites looking to reach last 16 as group winners
The Whites will achieve their goal if they win or draw by one goal or more against the Austrian team at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. (Friday, 3 am CEST; Thursday, 9 pm local time).
Real Madrid finish Group H of the Club World Cup in the early hours of Thursday morning. The Whites, who lead the group with four points after drawing against Al Hilal (1-1) and defeating Pachuca (3-1), take on Salzburg, who are also second on four points, at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field. (Friday, 3 am CEST; Thursday, 9 pm local time).
On the line is qualification for the last 16, for which Real Madrid, Salzburg and Al Hilal are all in contention. If the Whites manage to win this evening or draw 1-1 or with more goals, they will finish top of the group. They would also finish top if it ends 0-0 and Al Hilal do not beat Pachuca by two goals or more than 3-1.
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This will be Xabi Alonso's third game in charge of Real Madrid. The Spanish coach, whose team is undefeated, discussed the match in the press conference ahead of the clash and said: “We have two objectives for tomorrow: to win and to finish first in the group. We had a good game and now we want to play with 11 for the full 90 minutes against a demanding and dynamic team. We know that we are in the decisive phase, this is the last match of the group, and we're aiming to go through to the next phase.”
The coach has named these players in his squad for the clash. Mbappé, who will gradually return to the team's training after an acute bout of gastroenteritis, will not be available.
Salzburg
The Austrian side are undefeated in this Club World Cup. They kicked off with a win against Pachuca (1-2) with goals from Onisiwo and Gloukh and drew against Al Hilal (0-0) in the second match. Salzburg will qualify for the last 16 as group leaders if they win the match.