Real Madrid News
Official: Federico Valverde starts for Uruguay in must-win game vs Ghana
Uruguay will learn their fate in the FIFA World Cup 2022 today as they gear up to take on Ghana in their final group game.
Heading into the match La Celeste are bottom of the group with just one point, tied with South Korea in third, following their opening day draw against the Asian side and a defeat to Portugal last time out.
So, Diego Alonso’s side, who were termed as one of the darkhorses in the tournament, will need all three points against Ghana while they would also need South Korea to not win against Portugal.
And Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde, who has been one of the few positives for Uruguay in the World Cup, is starting and will have a lot riding on him against Ghana.
The midfielder partners up with Rodrigo Bentancur in the centre of the park while Facundo Pellistri and Giorgian De Arrascaeta seem set to occupy the flanks to form the second line of press behind the strike partnership of Darwin Nunez and Luis Suarez.
Guillermo Varela, Sebastian Coates, Jose Maria Gimenez and Mathias Olivera form the backline that will shield Sergio Rochet in goal for the South American nation against Ghana.
✍🏼 𝗟𝗔 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗔
— Selección Uruguaya (@Uruguay) December 2, 2022
Ficha del partido contra Ghana por el 𝗚𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗢 𝗛 de la @fifaworldcup. #ElEquipoQueNosUne pic.twitter.com/vITCcwMXuD
Real Madrid will be looking to pick up their fifth win of the 2026/27 La Liga season when they take on Elche CF at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero later tonight.
With 12 points from five games, Los Blancos are currently second in the league table, three points below leaders FC Barcelona.
As such, the Spanish capital club will be eager to get the win and close the gap to the top.
Guler starts, Bellingham rested
Ahead of kickoff, Real Madrid have announced the starting lineup that will take the field against Elche, with Jose Mourinho making some important changes.
For starters, Arda Guler is back in the lineup after appearing as a substitute in the win over Rayo Vallecano.
Interestingly, however, he starts in the attacking midfield role, with Mourinho opting to rest Jude Bellingham, who has started all of Real Madrid’s games so far.
That also means that Yan Diomande retains his place in the team, starting for a second time in a row on the right wing. Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. continue in their respective positions in attack.
Another notable change sees Aurelien Tchouameni make his first start of the season after recovering from injury and making two appearances off the bench.
He replaces Bernardo Silva as Federico Valverde’s partner in the middle of the park.
Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marc Cucurella come in as full-backs, while Ibrahima Konate and Dean Huijsen slot in at centre-back in front of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
📋✅ ¡Nuestro XI inicial!
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) September 15, 2026
🆚 @ElcheCF
👉 @UnicajaBanco pic.twitter.com/rHzZI1CQM7
