will start for Real Madrid in Wednesday’s titanic 2025 FIFA Club World Cup semifinal against Paris Saint-Germain, his former club.
Mbappé, one of the biggest names in global soccer, has barely featured at the Club World Cup.
He didn’t play in any of Real Madrid’s group-stage games due to what the club said was gastroenteritis. Mbappé’s symptoms resulted in him being
briefly hospitalized on June 19, but he was able to return to play 22 minutes in a 1-0 win over Juventus in the round of 16.
REAL MADRID VS. PSG: Updates and highlights from Club World Cup clash
The France forward came off the bench again on Saturday in a 3-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund, scoring what eventually became the game-winning goal. In his absence, Real Madrid has gotten goals from a surprising source, with 21-year-old reserve Gonzalo García scoring his first four times in competitive play for the first team.
Mbappé joined Real Madrid just over a year ago, leaving PSG as a free agent after seven seasons with France’s most famous team. In his first season with the La Liga giants, Mbappé scored 44 goals in 58 competitive appearances, including a league-leading 31 goals in the Spanish top flight.
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Kylian Mbappe: Did Real Madrid star score vs. PSG?
Kylian Mbappé and Real Madrid endured a rare, humbling loss to Paris Saint-Germain, with the French juggernaut winning 4-0. Mbappé did not score in a game PSG controlled from start to finish, with the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League winners taking a two-goal lead after just nine minutes and never looking back.
PSG deprived
los Blancos
of the ball early, then built an early lead on goals from Fabián Ruiz and Ousmane Dembélé. Ruiz struck again in the 24th minute, and Gonçalo Ramos completed the scoring in the 87th minute.
It was a rough day for Mbappé, who played the full 90 minutes against the club where he spent seven seasons before joining Real Madrid last summer. Per Sofascore, Mbappé took four shots, but only one actually forced a save out of PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
A bigger indicator of how things went for the star forward? Despite being a focal point for Real Madrid’s attack, and even with his side taking attacking risks trying in vain to find some life in the game, Mbappé had just 27 touches. In that light, getting four shots off is actually pretty good, but PSG’s total dominance meant that the 26-year-old Paris native was as helpless as the rest of his teammates.
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