Kylian Mbappé 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.
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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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