In the second half, Gonzalo García, enjoying a brilliant run of form this tournament, scored the goal that put Real Madrid ahead.
It was an intense second half full of attacking football from both ends. García finally broke the deadlock with a superb header, giving Real the lead. Juventus fought hard, pushing relentlessly for an equalizer, but couldn’t find the breakthrough. With a narrow but satisfying victory, Xabi Alonso’s team secured their place in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup.
In the Round of 16 clash held Tuesday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Florida, record five-time champions Real Madrid edged past Juventus 1-0.
The match also marked the first appearance of Kylian Mbappé in this year’s tournament. The French star missed earlier matches due to illness.
Both teams shared possession almost equally, but it was Real who dominated in attack. Of their 22 shots, 11 were on target—yet only García’s header found the back of the net. Juventus, on the other hand, managed just two shots on target from six attempts. Still, the game’s first golden opportunity came from the Italian side.
In the 7th minute, a swift counterattack saw Kolo Muani sprint forward after a clever flick set up Kenan Yildiz. Muani left Antonio Rüdiger behind and charged into the box one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois. But his chipped shot grazed the crossbar and landed on top of the net—wasting a golden chance.
In the 24th minute, Aurélien Tchouaméni attempted a surprise strike from outside the box, but it deflected off a defender and went out. Real failed to make use of the resulting corner. Their best opportunity of the half came in the 29th minute. Federico Valverde’s cross found Jude Bellingham inside the six-yard box, but his shot was saved and then cleared off the line by Daniele Rugani.
Following the cooling break, in the 37th minute, Arda Güler’s cross into the box found Tchouaméni, who failed to connect with a header. Then, Dean Huijsen’s attempted finish also missed the ball, squandering another promising opportunity. Still, Real’s control over the game continued to grow.
In stoppage time of the first half, Real turned up the pressure inside the Juventus box. They came close when Valverde unleashed a long-range shot, but the Juventus keeper denied it with a fine save.
Early in the second half, Bellingham set up Valverde again, but the shot went wide. In the 52nd minute, Bellingham had another effort, but that too failed to trouble the keeper. However, Real’s continuous pressure eventually paid off.
“In the 54th minute, Trent Alexander-Arnold delivered a cross that Gonzalo García met with a towering header to score. It was the young Spaniard’s third goal of the tournament.”
Juventus nearly equalized just two minutes later, but Courtois produced a brilliant save to stop Francis’ low, powerful shot. Soon after, Valverde attempted an overhead kick, but Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio punched it away, preventing a second goal.
In the 68th minute, García was substituted, receiving loud applause from the fans. His replacement was none other than Kylian Mbappé, making his tournament debut. Though he showed flashes of brilliance, the Frenchman wasn’t at his best.
In the 72nd minute, Di Gregorio frustrated Real once again. Vinícius Júnior broke down the left and passed to Mbappé, who whipped a cross into the box. Valverde played a back-pass to Güler, whose thunderous shot was somehow blocked by the keeper’s outstretched foot.
Due to extreme heat, a second cooling break was taken in the 75th minute. Seven minutes later, Tchouaméni’s strike was again denied by Di Gregorio, giving Juventus a glimmer of hope.
In the dying moments, Kolo Muani went down inside the box and appealed for a penalty, but the referee waved play on. Juventus were left to walk off the pitch with disappointment after a hard-fought match that ended in defeat.
