Real Madrid vs Al Hilal Preview: Team News & Prediction | 2025 FIFA Club World Cup | Group Stage

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In one of the more highly-anticipated fixtures of Matchday 1, European juggernauts Real Madrid – under new management – take on one of the new powers in world football.

Kick-off date/time:

How to watch on TV & online: UK – DAZN & Channel 5 / US – DAZN

Real Madrid team news: Mbappe a doubt

Kylian Mbappe missed training on Tuesday with a fever and could be held back for this opener, while new boss Xabi Alonso has a number of injury doubts to contend with.

There could be debuts for new signings Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold, the latter being available because Real Madrid paid Liverpool a considerable early release fee.

Predicted XI (4-3-1-2): Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Asencio, Huijsen, Garcia; Valverde, Tchouameni, Modric; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius

Unavailable: Endrick (Injured)

Questionable: Carvajal (Injured), Alaba (Injured), Camavinga (Injured), Mendy (Injured), Mbappe (Illness)

Al Hilal team news: Mitrovic the danger man

Joao Cancelo missed the last portion of the recently-concluded Saudi Pro League season, but will line up here should he prove his fitness.

Aleksandar Mitrovic has been prolific for Al Hilal since joining from Fulham in 2023-24, having scored 68 goals in 79 appearances for the Saudi club.

Predicted XI (3-5-2): Bono; Tambakti, Koulibaly, Al-Bulayhi; Cancelo, Kanno, Neves, Milinkovic-Savic, S. Al-Dawsari; Malcolm, Mitrovic

Unavailable:

Questionable: Cancelo (fitness)

Key stats

• Real Madrid are without doubt Europe’s most decorated club, they won their 15th European Cup/UEFA Champions League title in 2024 and have now claimed the prize eight times more than any other team.
• Real Madrid had already secured their spot in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ prior to their 2024 UEFA Champions League success, having previously achieved the feat when they defeated Liverpool in the 2022 final.
• Real Madrid will be looking to make it a double of global showpiece successes this season having won the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2024™ with a 3-0 victory against Pachuca in Qatar in December 2024.
• Real Madrid and Al Hilal met in the final of what is now known as the FIFA Intercontinental Cup™ in Morocco in February 2023, Real Madrid winning 5-3 with the help of doubles from both Vinícius Júnior and Federico Valverde.
• Real Madrid have played pre-season matches in the USA in the last three years. In the summer of 2024, they faced Milan (L 0-1) in Chicago, Barcelona (L 1-2) in New Jersey, and Chelsea (W 2-1) in Charlotte
• Real Madrid’s star signing in the summer of 2024, Kylian Mbappé has certainly risen to the occasion on the global stage previously in FIFA competition, winning the World Cup with France in 2018 and finishing as the top scorer in the 2022 competition, which included scoring a hat-trick in the final against Argentina.
• Kylian Mbappé finished his debut La Liga campaign with 31 goals in 34 games, winning the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe for the first time in career. Overall, the French striker has scored 43 goals in 56 competitive appearances for Real Madrid.
• Real Madrid’s new head coach Xabi Alonso was a FIFA World Cup™ winner as a player with Spain in 2010 – he started all their seven matches during the tournament.
• Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso scored a goal against Saudi Arabia for Spain in a 3-2 victory a friendly in Austria in May 2010.
• Record 19-time Saudi title-winners Al Hilal have been crowned Asian club champions a record four times – one more than Pohang Steelers of Korea Republic and Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan.
• Al Hilal’s most recent AFC Champions League success was in 2021 when they overcame Pohang Steelers (Korea Republic) 2-0 in the final at King Fahd Sports City. The triumph also secured their place in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™
• Al Hilal incredibly won 34 games in a row in all competitions between September 2023 and April 2024.
• Al Hilal’s captain Salem Al Dawsari finished as top scorer in the AFC Champions League Elite this season with ten goals. Domestically, he was named Best Saudi Player in the 2024/25 Saudi Pro League after finishing with campaign with 15 goals and 15 assists. Al Dawsari previously left his mark on the global stage for his memorable goal in Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 victory against the eventual champions Argentina at the World Cup in 2022.
• Al Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou played six matches for Morocco as they finished fourth at the World Cup in 2022, he saved two penalties in the shoot-out victory against Spain in the round of 16.
• Several Al Hilal squad members have played in Spain – Yassine Bounou (Atlético de Madrid 2012-14, Real Zaragoza 2014-2016, Girona 2016-20, Sevilla 2020-23), Renan Lodi (Atlético 2019-23), João Cancelo (Valencia 2015-18, Barcelona 2023/24 loan), Malcom (Barcelona 2018/19) and Salem Al Dawsari (Villarreal 2018 loan).
• Al Hilal’s new coach Simone Inzaghi led his previous club Inter to two UEFA Champions League finals in the last three seasons, losing out against Man City in 2023 and PSG in 2025.
• Xabi Alonso tasted success against Simone Inzaghi earlier this season in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League when his Bayer Leverkusen side defeated Inzaghi’s Internazionale 1-0 thanks to a dramatic last-gasp winner.
• Simone Inzaghi lost both of his UEFA Champions League matches as coach of Inter against Real Madrid (0-1 home and 0-2 away in the 2021/22 group stage).
• Al Hilal’s playing roster includes 18 players with a participation in either the FIFA World Cup, FIFA U-20 World Cup or FIFA U-17 World Cup. This is more than any other club at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™.
• Both teams have a FIFA U-20 World Cup winner in their playing roster, with Al Hilal’s Sergej Milinković-Savić having won the competition in 2015 with Serbia and Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin having triumphed in the showpiece with Ukraine in 2019.

Real Madrid vs Al Hilal prediction

Despite this tournament carrying the same name as previous iterations, FIFA class this expanded and revamped event as the first official staging, and given Real Madrid’s trophy-laden history, they would love to be the first name on that trophy.

Indeed, the fact that they missed out on the UEFA Champions League in 2024-25 means that they will be even more motivated to succeed in the USA, and it would of course be the perfect start to new manager Xabi Alonso’s tenure in the Real Madrid hot seat.

Al Hilal also have a new man in charge, with Simone Inzaghi stepping in after leaving his post at Serie A side Inter. The Saudi state-backed side, the 2021 AFC Champions League winners, were unable to defend their Saudi Pro League title this year as they finished second behind Al-Ittihad.

Al Hilal’s attacking threat cannot be discounted, with domestic assist leader Salem Al-Dawsari ably supporting dangerman Mitrovic up front. However, Real Madrid mean business in this tournament and will want to make a statement from the outset. This is unlikely to be a rout given the experienced operators in the Al Hilal squad, but the European giants should come out on top.

Real Madrid vs Al Hilal tip: Real Madrid to win