Club World Cup: Mbappe returns as Real Madrid outclass Juventus to reach quarters

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Real Madrid secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Juventus in a tightly contested Club World Cup Round of 16 match on Tuesday at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens.

The decisive moment came in the 54th minute, when academy product Gonzalo Garcia rose highest to head home a pinpoint cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold, sealing a well-deserved win for the Spanish champions, reports Al Jazeera.

This win sends Real Madrid into the last-eight, where they will face Borussia Dortmund, who progressed after outclassing Monterrey 2-1 in Atalanta on Tuesday.

This match also featured a moment many fans had eagerly anticipated: Kylian Mbappe’s first appearance at the Club World Cup, following a bout of acute gastroenteritis that had ruled him out of the group stage. He began the game on the bench, jogging onto the pitch to a rapturous ovation, applauding the fans and soaking in the atmosphere before entering the field in the 68th minute.

In the early stages, Juventus looked lively and posed immediate threats. Randal Kolo Muani nearly opened the scoring with an audacious chip that sailed narrowly wide, while Kenan Yildiz also tested the waters with a long-range effort.

However, as the first half progressed, Real Madrid began to assert themselves, gaining control in midfield and forcing Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio into several important saves from Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham.

Once Madrid took the lead, their dominance became more pronounced. Juventus failed to create clear opportunities, in part due to Real’s disciplined pressing under coach Xabi Alonso.

The Italian side grew increasingly frustrated as Madrid’s defence held firm, ensuring that Garca’s lone goal would be enough to see them through to the quarter-finals.

More importantly, the result highlighted several positives for Xabi Alonso’s side-the most significant being the spark shown in his favoured 3-4-3 formation, which offered glimpses of what the team could become under his leadership.

Gonzalo Garca’s emergence is another major takeaway. A consistent performer, Garca has now contributed to goals in all four of Madrid’s matches at the tournament, offering pace, pressing intensity, and a keen eye for goal.

Dortmund held off a stirring second-half fightback from Monterrey to complete the Club World Cup quarter-final line-up with a 2-1 win in a round-of-16 thriller at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Tuesday.

Clinical finishes from Serhou Guirassy in the 14th and 24th minutes put Dortmund on top at the break but German Berterame hit back for Monterrey in the 48th minute and the Mexican club pressed for an equaliser until the final whistle. (With Reuters inputs)

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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