Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso left Trent Alexander-Arnold out of the squad for Wednesday’s Club World Cup semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
The Spaniard was forced into one change defensively as summer signing Dean Huijsen is suspended as a result of being sent-off in the quarter-final win over Borussia Dortmund.
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But Alexander-Arnold has been dropped after suffering a training ground injury, and Federico Valverde will step in as cover.
Eder Militao returns to the bench, where he started last week, with Raul Asencio come in to fill his spot.
Elsewhere across the defence, Thibaut Courtois will be in between the posts with Valverde and Fran Garcia at full-back.
Arda Guler is proving to be one of Alonso’s undroppables already and two assists last time out sees the Turkey wonderkid keep his place in midfield alongside Aurelien Tchouameni and Jude Bellingham.
Up front, Kylian Mbappe is in contention to face his former club for the first time since leaving on a free transfer last summer, though his inclusion from the start was not a guarantee.
He will line up alongside Gonzalo Garcia, who has done superbly leading the line in Mbappe’s absence, netting four goals in five appearances to stake his claim to start against PSG.
Furthermore, the Frenchman is still returning to fitness after dealing with a case of gastroenteritis that not only hospitalised him but also saw him miss the entirety of the group stage.
He played the final 20 minutes as a substitute against Juventus in the round of 16 and got a similar amount of time in the quarter-final win where he ended up netting the all-important goal.
Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Valverde, Rudiger, Asencio, Fran Garcia, Arda Guler, Tchouameni, Bellingham, Vinicius Jr., Mbappe, Gonzalo
Subs: Lunin, Carvajal, Militao, Camavinga, Modric, Rodrygo, Lucas V., Ceballos, Brahim, Youssef, Jacobo, Chema, Victor Munoz, Mario Martin
Suspended: Huijsen.
Injured: Alaba, Endrick, Mendy, Camavinga.
Time and date: 8pm BST on Wednesday July 9, 2025.
How to watch: 5 and DAZN.
Venue: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford.
