Xabi Alonso hinted Kylian Mbappe could return to Real Madrid’s starting XI within the Club World Cup quarter-finals after his side overcame Juventus to book their place within the last eight.
Gonzalo Garcia’s second-half header – assisted by Trent Alexander-Arnold – proved decisive as Los Blancos advanced through from tonight’s heavyweight last-16 tie at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
Mbappe missed all three of Madrid’s group-stage contests after being hospitalised with acute gastroenteritis on the eve of this summer’s tournament.
But Alonso sent Mbappe on instead of match-winner Garcia within the 68th minute and while the Frenchman was unable to make a meaningful difference, he’ll little doubt be pleased to get some minutes in his legs following a difficult few days on the sidelines.
Madrid will tackle certainly one of Borussia Dortmund or Monterrey in the following round at Latest Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, where Alonso will look to maneuver one step further to securing his first piece of silverware as head coach.
‘We’re growing game by game and today we improved again,’ Alonso said shortly after the ultimate whistle.
‘You will have to know easy methods to compete and grit your teeth. That is Real Madrid.’
Alonso is optimistic over Mbappe’s probabilities of returning to Madrid’s starting XI when the club resume their campaign on Saturday evening.
‘Kylian Mbappe? I feel he’ll feel a lot better for the quarter-finals,’ the Spaniard replied when asked for an update on the forward’s fitness.
‘I check with him day-after-day, let’s see. He feels higher.’
Asked whether there’s a possibility each Garcia and Mbappe could start together in Madrid’s next clash, Alonso replied: ‘I’m not yet preparing for the following game.
‘I’m joyful with Gonzalo and the entire team. We’ve to begin determining what we’d like.
‘We’ll draw up good conclusions when the times comes.’
Alonso insists he has no preference in terms of Madrid’s next opponents, with Dortmund and Monterrey set to battle it out for a quarter-final spot on Wednesday.
‘I’ll be following that closely, in fact,’ the ex-Bayer Leverkusen boss added.
‘It doesn’t matter which one I select. I do know Dortmund and the Monterrey coaches thoroughly.’
Alonso is pleased with Alexander-Arnold’s contribution, but feels the England right-back has way more to offer considering he has ‘barely trained’ along with his latest team-mates.
On Alexander-Arnold’s first assist as a Madrid player, Alonso said: ‘Crossing is his trademark… he’s done 500 of those.
‘On the correct, we sometimes need an additional foot. One-on-one dribbling isn’t his thing.
‘He involves Madrid to compete; he’s barely trained. Every part takes time.’
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