Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso will wait until matchday morning to make a final decision on whether Kylian Mbappé starts.
The French forward, recently recovered from illness, came off the bench in the previous match. But heading into the quarter-final, even a day before the game, Alonso couldn’t confirm if Mbappé would be in the starting XI. He plans to decide on the morning of the match.
Due to illness, Mbappé missed all of Real Madrid’s Club World Cup group stage games. He returned in the Round of 16 against Juventus, coming on in the 68th minute for Gonzalo Garcia.
After that game, Alonso had sounded optimistic, saying he expected Mbappé to be fully fit by the time of the quarter-final. But at Friday’s pre-match press conference, the Real Madrid coach struck a more cautious tone.
“He’s getting better and better. Over the last three days, he’s improved a lot. But we’re still not sure. We’ll make the decision tomorrow morning on whether he’ll start.”
In Mbappé’s absence, Gonzalo Garcia has made the most of his opportunity in the starting XI. The young forward has scored three goals and provided one assist in four matches. It was his goal that knocked out Juventus and sent Real Madrid into the quarter-finals.
Real Madrid will face Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-final, scheduled for 2 a.m. Bangladesh time on Sunday (Saturday night local time) in New Jersey. Alonso knows Dortmund well, having previously managed Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen. He expects a hard-fought contest.
“Dortmund is a very good team. Since this coach (Niko Kovač) took charge, they’ve been building well, improving, and climbing up. We’re facing a strong opponent… it’s going to be a tight match.”
