Real Madrid begin their bid to be crowned the best team on the planet this morning when they face Mexico’s Club America in the semi-final of the FIFA Club World Cup in Yokohama.
Both sides have named strong starting XIs.
Club America vs Real Madrid lineups
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This is our starting XI for our Club World Cup semi-final against @ClubAmerica.#HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/AqwUcMIM0E— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) December 15, 2016
Club America: Munoz; Alvarado, Valdez, Goltz, Aguilar; Samudio, Da Silva, Sambueza; Ibarra, Romero, Peralta
FIFA Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo starts for Real as the Portuguese hero starts his bid to win a third Club World Cup.
Ronaldo won the competition with former club Manchester United in 2008, before lifting the trophy as a Madrid player in 2014.
Pepe and Sergio Ramos are both out for Real, so the La Liga giants are weakened in defence, which should offer some encouragement to the likes of Oribe Peralta and Silvio Romero in the Club America attack.
Real qualified for this event by winning last season’s European Cup, while Club America booked their place in the tournament by lifting the CONCACAF Champions League.