Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso said he feels his players “are eager and excited”, and that the “moment of truth has arrived” with him leading the first team for the first time against Al-Hilal in the Club World Cup on Wednesday night.
The club legend took over the reins from Carlo Ancelotti - who now leads Br azil - last month, and has headed to the highly-lucrative, 32-team FIFA competition in the United States with the intention of winning a first piece of silverware on offer in his new role.
"We are candidates, but we have to show it. We are not thinking about the final on July 13. Everything will come," Alonso said at a prematch press conference to preview the Al-Hilal tie.
"The match against Al Hilal will tell us many things that take time. Now it’s about making a team. We are at the starting point and we must not get frustrated. What cannot be missing is the hunger to win and compete. We have to play as a team," the ex-midfielder demanded, while stating that he has “zero worries” about the intense heat in Miami because “it is what it is and we can’t do anything”.
There is of course great interest over how Alonso’s maiden Madrid XI will look, and MARCA expects Thibaut Courtois to be the goalkeeper.
There are two new signings in defense in Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is the right back, and Dean Huijsen who partners Raul Asencio in central defense. Finishing off the defensive line is Fran Garcia, who could face increased positional rivalry in the coming weeks if Madrid manages to land Benfica’s Alvaro Carreras.
In midfield, Alonso finds room for Aurelien Tchouameni and Fede Valverde in the center of the park while Arda Guler is on the right flank and Jude Bellingham the left.
As we saw in Carlo Ancelotti’s treble-winning season of 2023/2024, Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo are a pair of wingers up front, which means Kylian Mbappe isn’t involved from the outset.
"Kylian was not feeling completely well and it was better that he did not go out to train. We are going to wait until the last moment," Alonso said about the Frenchman, who is a “a dynamic striker”.
“The idea is not to have fixed players. Because Kylian is not a reference number nine... but he is a number nine who scores a lot of goal,"” the new mananger concluded on this.
Linked with a move away from the club as 2024/2025 drew to a close, Rodrygo appears to have turned a corner on Alonso’s orders after making a decision on his Real Madrid future a few days ago. “I know that the end of the season was not easy for him, but he took an important time for him, to reset. Nor was it with the national team. From the first moment we talked... I see him wanting to contribute and enjoy himself on the pitch. He’s a player with enormous quality and now we have to put things into practice,” Alonso said about the Br azilian.
Real Madrid Starting XI Vs. Al Hilal: Courtois; Trent, Asencio, Huijsen, Fran García; Tchouameni, Valverde; Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius; Rodrygo