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Mbappe 'better' and ready for Real Madrid against Dortmund at Club World Cup

Mbappe 'better' and ready for Real Madrid against Dortmund at Club World Cup

Al-Ahram Weekly7 hours ago
Mbappe missed all three group matches at the tournament with a stomach bug but returned as a substitute when Madrid edged Juventus 1-0 to reach the last eight.
Youngster Gonzalo Garcia has led the line for Madrid in all four games and scored three goals in the United States.
"He's better, he's been recovering, tomorrow morning we will decide (if he starts)," Alonso told reporters Friday, before saying it might not mean 21-year-old Gonzalo had to drop out of the team.
"They can (play together), depending on the moment and the needs, they are complementary, if the context asks for it and I haven't ruled it out by any means," continued Alonso.
The Spaniard said he wanted the players "to know first" before revealing what his plans were for the match at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Brazilian winger Rodrygo has not featured much in Alonso's plans at the tournament and when he has appeared, has not been able to contribute significantly.
"I spoke yesterday with him and he's got a positive mentality, he's willing and ready when he's needed," said Alonso.
One player who has impressed Alonso is 20-year-old playmaker Arda Guler, who struggled for game-time under Carlo Ancelotti last season.
"It's the moment to invest in a process with Arda, we will push him to develop and mature, but knowing that he can make mistakes, and accept them," added the Spaniard.
Saturday's game is a repeat of the 2024 UEFA Champions League final, in which Madrid defeated Dortmund 2-0 at Wembley.
If Dortmund do not retain fond memories of that night, they do enter the contest armed with plenty of knowledge of Real's new coach having come up against Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen over the past three years.
"You see a lot of Bayer Leverkusen at the moment in Real Madrid because he is implementing his style of football," said Dortmund coach Niko Kovac, with the Spanish giants operating with a back three at the tournament.
"He is playing the same shape, but the quality of players is higher than at Leverkusen.
"I would say in three weeks you can't change the world, it takes time, but we have seen some very good stuff. It will be interesting and hopefully we can compete."
Dortmund are returning to the MetLife Stadium, just outside New York City, where they began their Club World Cup campaign with a 0-0 draw against Fluminense.
Now they are hoping to emulate the Brazilians, who qualified for the semi-finals on Friday with a 2-1 victory over Al-Hilal.
"When we started the tournament we didn't know how it would go," admitted Kovac, whose team arrived in the United States after finishing fourth in the German Bundesliga.
Their only defeat in 14 matches since mid-March came against Barcelona in the Champions League.
"Of course, we are very happy because this is a great tournament and the further on we go we can see the passion and intensity that there is.
"We played Fluminense who have made it to the semis, and yet people laughed when I said they were a top team.
"Now we want to stay here and we hope and believe we can get through to the next round."
Find more details on group standings, match schedules, and competition statistics
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
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