Reporter Lee Jae-sang = Al-Hilal defender Hyun-soo Jang (32), who is challenging for the first Asian Football Confederation (AFC) team to reach the top of the FIFA Club World Cup, and striker Karim Benzema (who won the Ballon d’Or) Real Madrid).
According to The Athletic on the 9th, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti announced that striker Benzema and defender Eden Militao, who had been sidelined due to injury during the Club World Cup final, would join. However, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will not play in the final as his condition is not improving.
Real Madrid beat Al-Ahli (Egypt) 4-1 in the semi-finals of the tournament held at the Stade Prince Mourey Abdalah in Rabat, Morocco.
With this, Real will face Al-Hilal in the final on the 12th. Real aims to win the 5th Club World Cup in 5 years since 2018.
This is the first time Al-Hilal has reached the final of the FIFA Club World Cup, having reached the semi-finals in 2019 and 2021. It is the third time that an AFC club has reached the final of the competition, after Kashima Antlers (Japan) in the 2016 competition and Al Ain (United Arab Emirates) in 2018. A winning team has yet to be produced.
The player that draws the most attention is Al-Hilal defender Jang Hyun-soo.
Al-Hilal, the AFC representative, won 3-2 in the match against Flamengo (Brazil) in the semifinals of the Club World Cup held in Rabat, Morocco the previous day (8th). Jang Hyun-soo started as a center back and played full-time, contributing to the victory.
So far, the team that Jang Hyun-soo meets in the finals is different from the previous opponent. Rodrygo, Vinicius (Brazil) and Luka Modric (Croatia) are among the best players in the world. It can be a burden for Jang Hyun-soo, who was active on the AFC stage.
In particular, the joining of Benzema, who is currently considered the best striker in the world, will be a great help to Real, but it is bad news for Al-Hilal.
Benzema was unable to fly to Morocco due to an injury during a recent Spanish Primera Liga match, but his condition improved and he joined the team ahead of the final match with Militang.
Benzema, a veteran striker born in 1987, won the Ballon d’Or trophy given to the world’s best soccer player last October. The Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious award organized by France Football, a French football magazine.
Benzema led Real Madrid to win the UEFA Champions League (UCL) and La Liga in the 2021-22 season. He scored 15 goals in the UCL and became the top scorer, and also scored 27 goals in La Liga to top the scorer. He has scored 13 goals in 21 matches this season.
However, it is unclear whether he will participate in the selection. Ancelotti said, “I haven’t fully recovered yet. I will watch and make a decision until the game.”
Meanwhile, Jang Hyun-soo has been playing for FC Tokyo through FC Tokyo (Japan) and Guangzhou Puri (China), and has been playing for Al-Hilal since 2019. Al-Hilal is ranked 4th in the Saudi league in the 2022-23 season with 9 wins, 5 draws and 1 loss (32 points), following Al-Nasr, Al-Shabab, and Al-Itihad (34 points).