MIAMI: Xabi Alonso’s glittering Real Madrid playing career offered no protection for their new coach against the harsh spotlight of expectation on Wednesday, as they laboured to a deflating 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal in their Club World Cup Group ‘H’ opener in Miami.
The result laid bare the task facing the 43-year-old Spaniard, who will be expected to conjure instant success after swapping Bayer Leverkusen for the pressure cooker of 15-time European champions Real.
“We know things take time, we need to correct a few details, everything takes time it’s been only nine days of work for me here,” Alonso told a press conference after watching his depleted squad struggle against opponents they were expected to dispatch with ease at Hard Rock Stadium.
Players who competed under previous coach Carlo Ancelotti explained what the changes are now that Alonso is in charge. “He wants us to play, he has a different way for us to defend, a different way for us to attack,” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said.
With captain Dani Carvajal and centre backs Antonio Ruediger and Eder Militao absent, Real’s defensive fragility was exposed despite the summer additions of Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
A clumsy penalty conceded by Raul Asencio compounded Real’s defensive woes, allowing the Saudi side to cancel out academy product Gonzalo Garcia’s opener.
Forced to innovate without Kylian Mbappe, who is undergoing treatment for acute gastroenteritis at a hospital, and injured Brazilian teenager Endrick, Alonso’s attacking options were limited.
The 21-year-old Garcia, thrust into the spotlight, scored after the half-hour mark from a Rodrygo assist but spurned several opportunities that could have settled the contest.
Al Hilal hit back in their new coach Simone Inzaghi’s first game on the bench with Ruben Neves levelling before the break from the penalty spot following Asencio’s foul.
Real had the chance to claim victory in stoppage time after Mohammed Al Qahtani was ruled to have put his hand in the face of Fran Garcia in the box.
However, Federico Valverde’s spot-kick was saved by Yassine Bounou to give the Saudi team a draw after a hugely creditable performance that underlined the growing strength of Arabic football on the world stage.
Al-Hilal’s performance reflects the rising competitiveness of clubs from the Gulf region, with the Saudi Pro League investing heavily in infrastructure and high-profile names.
A strong run from Al-Hilal would fuel regional pride and challenge lingering perceptions about the quality gap between Middle Eastern and European football and Inzaghi was left encouraged by his team’s display against one of the tournament’s favourites.
“People are starting to realise the level is rising,” Inzaghi , who arrived from Inter Milan after badly losing the Champions League final, said. “I’ve found a club here with organisation, ambition and players hungry to compete. The game was tough with the heat and humidity, but the players handled it superbly.”
RB Salzburg took the lead in Group ‘H’ with a 2-1 win over Mexican outfit Pachuca at the TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.
The match was suspended early in the second half with the Austrian team leading 1-0 — through Oscar Gloukh’s goal — because of a storm, resuming 97 minutes later.
Moments after play restarted, Pachuca’s Bryan Gonzalez delivered a 56th-minute free-kick equaliser but substitute Karim Onisiwo powered in a 76th-minute header to lift Salzburg to victory.
Salzburg will next face Al Hilal in Washington on Sunday, the same day Pachuca take on Real in Charlotte.
JUVE’S STATEMENT WIN
Juventus surged to the top of Group ‘G’ — level on three points with England’s Manchester City, who beat Wydad Casablanca earlier — with a crushing 5-0 triumph over UAE team Al Ain in Washington after visiting US President Donald Trump at the White House.
On loan Paris St Germain forward Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceicao both struck twice while Kenan Yildiz was also on target for Juve, who sent a delegation to the White House earlier in the day to present Trump with a club shirt.
Igor Tudor’s Juve, one of the biggest clubs in the world with expectations of success every season, are without a major international trophy for over two decades but the revamped Club World Cup gives them an opportunity to change that.
“I felt like the team really cared about this match, they were really motivated,” coach Tudor, who took over from Thiago Motta in March in the midst of a disappointing campaign after Juve had exited all cup competitions, said. “They were on their mettle. They have that desire.”
Tudor helped the club finish fourth in Serie A to secure a return to the Champions League next year and the club management have thrown their weight behind him to lead the team’s revival, with the coach extending his contract until 2028 earlier this month.
“We are going in the right direction,” Tudor said. “There’s always things you need to improve upon... a team is a living being, it’s never the same from one day to the next.”
The 36-time Italian champions opened the scoring in the 11th minute on Kolo Muani’s header in front of 18,161 fans at Audi Field, many on them wearing white and black-striped Juventus jerseys.
Ten minutes later, Conceicao dribbled the ball inside the penalty box and made it 2-0.
Yildiz then scored into the lower left corner in the 31st minute and Kolo Muani’s second goal four minutes into first-half stoppage time put Juve up 4-0. Conceicao scored again from a centre-field kick in the 58th minute..
Juve next play Morroco’s Wydad in Philadephia on Sunday, while Al-Ain, who lost to Real in the 2018 Club World Cup final, face City in Atlanta later the same day.
Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2025