Real Madrid seeks a boost in the semifinal against Egyptian Al Ahly

No one has won more editions of the Club World Cup than Real Madrid, up to four times in five games as European champions since the change in format from the old Intercontinental Cup. In the present, It is the end of a long road that has covered unforgettable stops for Real Madrid fans. Each comeback in a Champions League to remember.

Despite being the two teams along with Auckland City that have played the most in the Club World Cup since the format change in 2000, eight Al Ahly and five Real Madrid, they have never met in the competition. Carlo Ancelotti’s team arrives at the duel against a new rival with needs after seeing how difficult it is for him to retain the league crown for his stumbling block in Majorca. The defeat kept Barcelona eight points away.

Victim of a schedule that offers up to eight games in just 28 days in February, Real Madrid is on a roller coaster of sensations. He achieved a physical improvement compared to his image in January, but despite the emotional boost from the cup comebacks against Villarreal and Atlético de Madrid, It has been impossible for him to maintain a level of play that ensures wins every three days.

At the Club World Cup, which moved its date from December to February, he arrives with the poster of undisputed favorite, with the responsibility of winning a trophy in which the European club that disputes it rules (champion in 14 of 18 editions). In the semifinals he will have to overcome the difficulty of playing without several of his pillars. Courtois will not be in goal, nor will Militao as the head of the defense or his benchmark scorer Karim Benzema. Ferland Mendy, Lucas Vázquez and Eden Hazard complete a large list of casualties.

Ancelotti will bet on Andriy Lunin in goal, he must decide the position in which David Alaba starts, whether central or left back on Eduardo Camavinga, and everything points to a return to the ‘old guard’ in midfield with Luka Modric and Toni Croos. The German is the player with the most Club World Cup wins, up to five between his first with Bayern Munich and four with Real Madrid.

will walk away Vinicius Junior of the atmosphere of tension unleashed around his figure in every match that Real Madrid is playing away from the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. He arrives at the Club World Cup as the great Real Madrid star, the main offensive danger to be watched by the rival, waiting for Benzema to rush to be in a hypothetical final. “Victim”, as Ancelotti denounced, of a situation that has gotten out of hand and has become, with racist overtones from the stands, a serious problem to be tackled immediately in Spanish football.

Al Ahly will achieve a record against Real Madrid with his twenty-first game in a Club World Cup. Nobody played anymore. In this edition, to reach the semifinals, he showed power against Auckland City (3-0) and competitive experience against Seattle Sounders (1-0).

Despite not conceding a goal in five of their last six matches in the competition, the Egyptian side’s main danger lies in their attack. His coach, the Swiss Marcel Koller, must decide between Mohamed Sherif and the mobility of Pearcy Tau. Real Madrid will have to closely monitor the overflow in El Shahat’s dribbling and Abdelkader’s criteria.

Koller ruled out an approach like that of Mallorca, the kind that chokes Real Madrid with a defense of five and few spaces. “We have to go out for the ball, with confidence, not back down and wait.”stated as a letter of introduction to a team, Al Ahly, which in its 116-year history has lifted more than 140 trophies and has earned the respect of Real Madrid before the semifinals.