Two of Europe's footballing giants, Real Madrid and Juventus, clashed in a compelling last-16 encounter at the FIFA Club World Cup, held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Real Madrid, leading Group H, faced a Juventus side that finished second in Group G.
Real Madrid entered the match as heavy favorites, having won the trophy five times. However, Juventus hoped to cause an upset, despite a heavy 5-2 defeat to Manchester City in the group stages. Defending champions Manchester City were eliminated by Al Hilal.
Real Madrid topped Group H with seven points after recovering from an unconvincing start. Juventus progressed from Group G with six points. This match was the first meeting between the two sides since the 2017-18 Champions League quarter-finals. In that Champions League encounter, Juventus won 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Real Madrid edged the tie 4-3 on aggregate. Real Madrid has won 10 of their 21 previous encounters, while Juventus has won 9.
Real Madrid could welcome back Antonio Rudiger, who suffered from cramp against RB Salzburg. Kylian Mbappe, who had been sidelined due to illness, was expected to return and possibly start. However, Real Madrid still had defensive concerns, with Dani Carvajal, Eduardo Camavinga, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy, and Endrick all unavailable.
Juventus manager Igor Tudor was expected to make changes to the lineup following the loss to Manchester City. Khephren Thuram was likely to return in midfield, with Kenan Yildiz, Francisco Conceicao, and Randal Kolo Muani in attacking roles.
Real Madrid had been in good form, with five wins and one draw in their last six matches. Juventus had also been in good form, before their loss to Man City. Before playing Real Madrid, Juventus had won four games. The defeat to Manchester City saw Juventus concede 5+ goals for only the second time in 30 years and the first time in an international competition since 1958.
The predicted Real Madrid lineup was: Courtois; Tchouameni, Rudiger, Huijsen; Alexander-Arnold, Bellingham, Guler, Valverde, Garcia; Vinicius, Garcia. The predicted Juventus lineup was: Di Gregorio; Savona, Kelly, Kalulu; Costa, Thuram, McKennie, Cambiaso; Conceicao, Kolo Muani, Yildiz.
