Oops – let’s hear from Xabi Alonso …
“After the first 15 minutes, we started getting good control. We did very professionally and very well.”
During cooling break, he made an adjustment to start to pull the game wider.
On Garcia: “That’s what a striker is meant to do.”
On Mbappe: “He will have more training, he will have more days to recover, so we’ll check.”
NOW I’ll bid farewell. Thanks all.
Updated
With that, I’ll bid farewell. Enjoy the Real Madrid-Monterrey match after Monterrey’s upset win over Borussia Dortmund this evening. (Look, if Al-Hilal can beat Manchester City …)
Thanks for checking in with us today.
Valverde speaks on goal-scorer Garcia: He moves very well, he’s a player from the academy, he sees an opportunity.
Valverde on his play: I tried to do the best for all my teammates.
The translator then laughed at something that was clearly lost in translation.
Last word from the mailbag: Kurt Perleberg asks why we haven’t seen any US players for Real Madrid.
Because they’re not that good, maybe?
Google’s AI tells me the record for most La Liga appearances by a US player is 94 by Yunus Musah, all at Valencia. Then Luca de la Torre with 59 at Celta Vigo. After that, Kasey Keller (Rayo Vallecano) and Sergiño Dest (Barcelona) are tied with 51.
But seriously – it’s all about the right fit. And even then, the team and their supporters might not appreciate you. Looking your way, Chelsea.
We have not been presented any postgame comments yet. Lots of beer promotion.
Full time: Real Madrid 1-0 Juventus
If you were expecting Real to dominate this encounter, you were right. Only a series of stellar saves by Di Gregorio kept this close. Juve had some bright moments early on but nothing that screamed, “yes, this team deserves an equalizer” for the last 60-75 minutes.
Next up: the winner of Borussia Dortmund vs. Monterrey, which will take place in the nice air conditioning of Atlanta this evening. I’m picking Monterrey. Concacaf are overdue.
90 min +5: Last chance for Juve, and is that a call for a penalty? No, our referee says with emphatic waves of his arms. Replay shows Kolo Muani was basically headed for the ground the whole time, hoping for a miracle.
The ball is recycled out and hit from a long way away out of desperation. Courtois collects, and …
80 seconds left … throw-in for Real. Juve players showing some long faces.
Justin Kavanagh writes: “Infantino will be happy that Mbappe is back now that Messi is out of the tournament. If Juve could sneak an equalizer, though, you’d fancy Di Gregorio to provide the heroics in a shootout.”
I would predict Real would win a shootout 1-0.
90 min +3: Offside on Juve.
90 min +1: Real play keepaway for a while, then blast the ball downfield for no apparent reason.
The crowd, having finished saluting Valverde, are silent. Expectations for the remaining 210 seconds are low.
We’ll have five minutes of stoppage time, starting … oh, 30 seconds ago.
90 min: Ceballos replaces Valverde, who receives a well-earned ovation as he departs. He wipes his sweaty face, then claps to acknowledge the crowd.
89 min: Valverde springs forward and loses control of the ball but manages to knock it off a defender to earn a corner kick. That’ll keep Juve pinned back a bit more as time starts to run out.
Quick word from krishnamoorthy v: “If you have done refereeing for U 14, you are qualified for Manchester derby.”
I still have a lot to live for, so no thanks.
87 min: YELLOW to Jude Bellingham. That’s our first card of the day, and there have been no incidents to this point at which it was even a question. Fair play indeed.
Updated
85 min: At last, it’s Juve’s last window, and we’ll see Weston McKennie along with Federico Gatti. The sad figures of Locatelli and Rugani stroll out past their own goal for the long walk around the field to their bench.
83 min: Bellingham combines with Vinicius Junior, and the ball is sprayed wide to Tchouaméni, who shoots back across the grain, and forces a 10th save, this one a fingertip save at full extension, from Di Gregorio. He’s entering Tim Howard territory here.
80 min: It would appear that Igor Tudor changed his mind about using his third substitution window right now, and Juve are indeed on the attack. Real regain control, but that was a helpful reminder that this game is still just 1-0, thanks in large part to Di Gregorio’s nine saves.
Game reset at the cooling break …
Real lead 1-0 on a powerful short-range header by Garcia.
Mbappe is in for Real, and Modric is about to join him, even though they really need people at the back to keep things calm for another 15-20 minutes.
Speaking of calm, the Weather Channel now says “expect dry conditions for the next 6 hours,” and the precipitation on the radar is all north of Miami.
Modric takes the captain’s armband as he replaces Güler.
We haven’t seen confirmation that McKennie is actually on.
76 min: So we WILL see Weston McKennie in this game!
After the cooling break …
72 min: CHANCE for Real, and how did THAT stay out?!
Precise passing in the penalty area, including a couple of touches for Mbappe, and it goes back to the top of the area for Güler, who launches a brutal shot toward the lower corner that Di Gregorio somehow keeps out. Fine game by the Italian keeper.
70 min: CHANCE for Juve. Not over yet!
But they’re taking out Yildiz, so maybe it is. Off the bench, it’s US cornerstone Weston McKenn- … oh, no, it’s Teun Koopmeiners.
69 min: Valverde seems determined to get on the scoresheet, no matter how many times he has to shoot. Di Gregorio scoops this one off the ground.
67 min: To underscore the point, Real shoot twice in three seconds, each time bouncing back off a wall of defenders.
Mbappe officially makes his way in, which means we see plenty of picture of people wearing his shirt. He replaces Garcia, scorer of the lone goal so far.
Here comes Mbappe ...
Into a game in which, honestly, Real probably don’t need him. Juve haven’t looked like equalizing in a while.
Updated
66 min: Patient possession for Real, and why not?
63 min: Nicolas Gonzalez is the man replacing Kelly.
The Weather Channel is still saying “thunderstorms will end at 5:30” while we have no thunderstorms and no lightning on the radar.
The game continues.
60 min: BICYCLE KICK by Valverde, and it’s only the alertness of the in-form Juve keeper Di Gregorio that keeps us from being at 2-0.
59 min: Conceição departs, replaced by Filip Kostic. Also, English defender Lloyd Kelly, signed permanently by Juve after a successful loan spell, is out.
56 min: Conceição bids for an immediate answer with a worm-burning shot that Courtois has to dive to slap away.
We have now reached the part of the game in which players sit down with cramps.
GOOOOOALLLL! Real Madrid 1-0 Juventus (Garcia 54)
That was coming, like a storm front passing across the peninsula.
And this time, Alexander-Arnold takes a touch, looks up and puts in a high cross that drops where Garcia has enough space for an uncontested 6-yard header that he knocks straight under the bar and into the net.
Updated
51 min: Corner for Juve, as we’re again starting brightly. Real defend well and break quickly with Vinicius Junior down the left, stopped by Locatelli deep in his own half.
Garcia then draws a foul from Conceição. Nothing interesting from the free kick, but the ball is worked back out to Bellingham, who blasts a shot from 20 yards that stings Di Gregorio’s hands.
And another chance for Real as Di Gregorio sprawls to stop a dipping shot with some menace.
50 min: Trent Alexander-Arnold runs on to the ball in an acre of space near the corner of the penalty area. He has all day to settle it, and he picks out a spot …
No, I’m kidding – he blasted it several dozen rows into the stands.
Updated
49 min: A cross gets through for Juve, but the ball goes beyond the attacker. Also, the flag was up. And there are probably other reasons it wouldn’t have been a goal.
For the record – there were no halftime subs.
48 min: Courtois and a defender can’t agree on who should be clearing the ball, and the resulting awkward clearance eventually yields a Juve corner.
47 min: Valverde tries curling a shot within the penalty area, and he doesn’t miss by that much.
No sign of weather issues yet.
Second half is underway. Still 0-0.
Ian Copestake writes: “Are you the first MBMing referee in the Guardian’s history? And does your full name suggest a penchant for French symbolist poetry? So many questions and so few minutes.”
All that I know about French is that my name roughly translates to “pretty hard.” As far as referees go … maybe? To be fair, I’ve never done any level higher than Under-16 low-level travel, Under-14 higher-level travel and Under-19 rec league. I’m too old to keep up with anyone else.
The ever-knowledgeable Peter Oh checks in: “It’s interesting that RM fans are watching in Athens, GA, but frankly I would be more impressed if REM fans were watching in Athens, GA. Or maybe even the band themselves. Anyway, this tournament makes me wonder if I’m Losing My Religion.”
One of my bands played an R.E.M. tribute recently, but we didn’t do that one, due in part to the lack of a mandolin player.
When drummer Bill Berry left one of the two Big Bands from Athens (the other being the B-52s), the headline font in the local newspaper was about the same size as the end of World War II.
Weather watch
Justin Kavanagh writes: “The Forecast called for pain at the start, but the weather now Feels Like Rain in Miami, so I think you need some of the great John Hiatt at halftime. “
Unfortunately, yes, it appears that some of the green blobs on the radar in and around Florida are now passing over Miami. The Weather Channel says “thunderstorms likely to continue through 6 p.m. (two hours and change from now),” but there’s no lightning on the map. Maybe we’ll just have a good soaking rain.
Halftime: Real Madrid 0-0 Juventus
After a promising start at both ends, Real have had the better of things since the cooling break, but honestly, neither of these teams can finish as well as Al-Hilal.
Just saying.
45 min +3: Bellingham, Valverde and Alexander-Arnold form a potent passing triangle and work their way forward, where Trent unleashes a powerful cross that could easily have caromed into the net off any of the players from either side lined up across the 6-yard box.
45 min: Impressive turn from Güler, but his cross is blocked away.
Real reset, and it’s a CHANCE for Real as Valverde laces a shot from 18 yards that Di Gregorio impressively knocks wide with a mighty sideways leap. That might have been goal-bound.
Four minutes of stoppage time, still 0-0.
43 min: Thuram has it on the left for Juve, but his cross finds no one in Juve’s dark shirts.
41 min: Quickly taken free kick at midfield for Juve. They continue even after one of their players rolls around on the grass for a bit. Real win the ball back thanks to, of all people, Vinicius Junior, tracking back to help out at the back.
39 min: Juve now seem to have seen enough of Real’s patient and nearly effective attack. They swarm to win the ball back.
36 min: The Juve defensive formation now resembles a spider with a flat body and a couple of short legs.
But Real get a set piece, and Tchouaméni whiffs on an open header that would’ve been problematic for Juve had he connected.
34 min: We resume with a very high free kick for Real.
As a referee, I’ve found it impossible to keep cooling/hydration breaks brief. Coaches inevitably treat it as a timeout with no time limit.
Replay shows that ball may have been off target, but that only means it would’ve been sitting 3 yards from goal if not for timely intervention.
Speaking of timely intervention, we will now have the cooling break.
30-minute score check: 0-0, but this is not a dull one so far.
30 min: CHANCE for Real, saved off the line after Bellingham gets a touch to deflect the ball on the edge of the 6-yard box.
Updated
29 min: Patient buildup for Real as Juve again establish a defensive formation shaped roughly like a very wide taco.
27 min: Juve win a corner, though I’m surprised Yildiz wasn’t offside before delivering that cross. Courtois easily claims the corner and distributes quickly.
26 min: Trent ends up on the left side of the attack during the corner kick, and he and Bellingham combine to strip the ball deep in the Juve half from Conceição.
Another Real corner leads to a hard-driven but wide shot from Vinicius Junior.
No cooling breaks today?
25 min: Juve defending with a flat line of five and an arced line of five. Real opt for a long shot and are rewarded when Di Gregorio unnecessarily touches it on the way out.
23 min: CHANCE for Juve as a cross pings in from the left and is headed at a 90-degree angle by Conceição but right at Courtois.
Updated
22 min: A Real possession dies with an errant pass by Alexander-Arnold – or “Trent,” as he’s called on his jersey.
Juve move the ball from side to side looking for an opening but find none, as Real’s midfield have settled quite well.
20 min: And now Juve’s attack is deemed unfairly physical.
My fellow Georgians are writing in today. Rafeed Rahman Turjya: “Watching the game from Athens, GA! RM fan here, never seen them press like this in a long time!”
They’ve been energetic, absolutely.
18 min: Juve attempt to pop the ball up to Kolo Muani, but he loses the aerial battle. At the other end, Vinicius Junior wrestles a defender until the referee reminds him that he’s playing a different sport.
17 min: Rugani shields the ball back to his keeper to hold off another Real attack. Alexander-Arnold presses to keep Juve pinned back.
You could argue that Juve have had the better chances so far but that Real have had the better of play.
15-minute score reminder: 0-0, but both offenses look industrious and full of energy despite the steamy conditions.
14 min: Kalulu gets the magic spray and squirts some water on his leg. Does that really help? Ever? He’ll continue.
12 min: Perhaps the “feels like” temperature feels comfortable to these teams, because this is being played at considerable pace. After Juve’s squandered corner, Real Madrid break, and Courtois manages to collect at the top of the penalty area under some pressure.
And Juve defender Kalulu is down for reasons not immediately apparent.
11 min: Yildiz cuts back to create a nice shooting angle, and his shot deflects off a Real Madrid foot for a corner.
9 min: Valverde shoots from some distance and isn’t particularly close.
Adam Hazell writes: “Greetings from metro Atlanta! Not a fan of either club but am a fan of mister Robert Cray, so your coverage is off to a great start.”
Is Athens considered part of metro Atlanta yet? That’s where I grew up. Most of the space between the two cities looks like concrete and asphalt now.
7 min: Vinicius Junior passes to the right for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who immediately loses it and Juve are off to the races! Randal Kolo Muani gets past the defense and streaks toward Courtois, but his attempt to lob the keeper sails high.
Updated
6 min: Bellingham wins the ball near the center spot and immediately sends the ball skittering through the Juve defense in search of Vinicius Junior, but it’s overhit.
5 min: Real Madrid are pressing! An uncomfortable pass back to the keeper maintains possession for the Italian side.
4 min: Some incisive passes for Real Madrid lead to a rather speculative shot from Vinicius Junior that deflects toward goal but loses much of its venom as it deflects.
2 min: Well now – Yildiz glides past some Real Madrid midfielders and starts a promising possession for Juve, awkwardly cleared away in the end.
1 min: Real’s defenders pad their passing stats just shy of midfield.
The referee, Szymon Marciniak of Poland, brought out a young fan to conduct the coin toss but decided he should also flip the coin himself. Hard to tell whether one end is staring into the sun or not, so it likely doesn’t matter.
And TWEET … we’re off!
Service has been restored, so the room is now glittering with the player introductions in front of what looks like the light show at a Metric concert.
Football Daily says the score will be 3-1 Real Madrid, but they didn’t tell me who will score, so I’m keen to see that.
Speaking of storms, a very nasty nearby lightning strike has temporarily (we hope) interrupted my feed of pregame punditry. Eek. This could end up being like the old story of baseball commentators inventing foul balls to delay things when they lost their phone connections to a distant game …
The forecast ...
… calls for pain.
Well, not really, but why not give Robert Cray a shoutout today?
It’s apparently 82 degrees F (or just shy of 30 degrees C). The humidity is Florida – in other words, 77%. The “feels like” (wasn’t this formerly called a “heat index”?) is 89. Supposedly, there’s not much chance of a thunderstorm, but it’s Florida, and you may have seen that the USA’s weather forecasting ranks are depleted. Either the radar shows patches of rough weather floating about or I’m paying the price for staring at the sun a little earlier.
Forecasters or no forecasters, summer in Florida means heat, humidity and the occasional “hey, we’ve never seen this in Europe” weather, so we’ll see.
Lineups: Mbappe is ...
… not starting but might appear later.
Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah, Juve’s US players who have bypassed a chance to face Guatemala in the Gold Cup semifinals to be in this event are also on the bench.
Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois; Dean Huijsen, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Antonio Rüdiger; Fran Garcia, Arda Güler, Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, Trent Alexander-Arnold; Vinícius Júnior, Gonzalo García.
Fifa’s site believes this to be a 4-4-2 with Alexander-Arnold at the back, but more likely, the former Liverpool man won’t be spending much time near his own goal unless something’s going wrong.
Juventus: Michele Di Gregorio; Lloyd Kelly, Daniele Rugani, Pierre Kalulu; Andrea Cambiaso, Khephren Thuram, Manuel Locatelli, Alberto Costa; Kenan Yildiz, Randal Kolo Muani, Francisco Conceição.
The European squads have been rotating a bit because they think it’s hot in the USA. Speaking of which …
Preamble
Well, this tournament got interesting last night, didn’t it?
For those who didn’t stay up until almost midnight Eastern time or until nearly dawn in Europe, Al-Hilal won the Game of the Century. Each time Manchester City came back to tie the game and steer it toward a penalty shootout in which you would have favored the English titans, Al-Hilal found a goal out of nowhere and reclaimed the lead.
Today? Just two big European teams, one of whom has a couple of players back in their home country of the USA. On paper, Juventus won’t have much of a chance against Real Madrid, but what chance did Al-Hilal have last night? Strange things happen in the heat of the USA.
