Real Madrid News
Official: Real Madrid star to make World Cup debut for Brazil against Switzerland
Brazil took on Serbia on the opening matchday of the FIFA World Cup 2022, and cruised to a 2-0 win courtesy of a brace from Richarlison, including a scissor kick.
However, they were faced with several difficulties during the game, with Neymar walking out injured, while Danilo also picked up an injury after the contest.
Neither player is expected to return in time for the group stages.
The former has been replaced by Lucas Paqueta in attacking midfield, with Fred coming in with Casemiro to form the double pivot.
Rodrygo was in contention to take Neymar’s place, but the Real Madrid star is expected to come off the bench later in the game. His club teammate Vinicius Jr, however, is retained in the lineup
Another Real Madrid baller to get the chance today is Eder Militao, who replaces Danilo as a right-back. The Brazilian will be making his World Cup debut for Selecao.
The rest of the lineup is unchanged, with Richarlison, Raphinha and Vinicius Jr making the cut for the front three.
Thiago Silva and Marquinhos hold the fort in central defence, with Alex Sandro flanking them on the left. Alisson retains his place in goal.
Equipe escalada! 🇧🇷🤩
— CBF Futebol (@CBF_Futebol) November 28, 2022
O técnico Tite definiu os 11 jogadores que iniciarão a partida contra a Suíça, às 13h (de Brasília).
A Seleção Brasileira vai em busca da segunda vitória seguida na Copa do Mundo!
É dia de Brasa, amigos! 😎#VemJogarJunto em busca de mais uma ⭐️! pic.twitter.com/LcPKhQBAFu
In what could be a real deal breaker for Real Madrid ahead of their Copa del Rey semi-final second leg clash against Barcelona, it has been revealed that as many as three Barça will be absent from the game while another key player remains a major doubt.
The list includes the likes of Pedri, Ousmane Dembele and Andreas Christensen. The trio is certain to miss the game through respective injuries while a certain Frenkie de Jong is more or less ruled out, as per Javi Miguel.
It must be remembered that Barcelona are heading into the second leg with a 1-0 advantage. But the absence of the aforementioned players means Madrid can work on exploiting the frailties.
Despite the absence of such big names, Barcelona did pretty well against Elche in their previous outing, coming out 4-0 victorious, with the goals coming from Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres.
With options lacking in midfield, Xavi decided to use the likes of Sergi Roberto and Eric Garcia along with Gavi in the heart of the lineup. In any way, they do have Sergio Busquets and Franck Kessie as backups if needed.
The defence, on the other hand, was perfectly guarded by Jordi Alba, Marcos Alonso, Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde.
One can expect Xavi to once again interchange Araujo with Kounde on the right since the Uruguayan has been rather successful in minimizing the threat of Vinicius Jr.
As far as Madrid are concerned, they are sweating over the fitness of three key defenders, namely, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho, and Ferland Mendy. Between these three, the Frenchman is out for about a month while Rudiger and Nacho are expected to be back before the Clasico.
If there are no casualties against Real Valladolid, Madrid will have a perfect midfield and attack, with only Mariano Diaz missing.
