Game Day Essentials
• Semifinal: Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid CF
• Date and Time: Wednesday, July 9 at 3:00 pm ET
• Venue: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
• Forecast: Still hot but dry, 89F/32C
• How to Watch: DAZN
• Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
The Kylian Mbappé Derby comes to MetLife Stadium in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup semifinals, as giants of Spain, Real Madrid CF, play giants of France, Paris Saint-Germain, to set a second finalist.
The last two teams to win the UEFA Champions League now meet in the Meadowlands in New Jersey on a steamy summer afternoon to decide who earns the right to play Chelsea FC for that shiny new Club World Cup trophy. It's a glitzy match between two of the biggest soccer powers on the planet, but can they do it on a swampy afternoon in the swamps of New Jersey?
Real Madrid is the only team yet to lose a match at this Club World Cup, now that Fluminense is eliminated after their 2-0 defeat against Chelsea. Under newly-hired manager Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid appear to be hitting their stride, now with four straight wins following a 1-1 draw with Al-Hilal to open their tournament.
In the knockout rounds, Los Blancos had to navigate a gauntlet that included beating Juventus and Borussia Dortmund back-to-back to reach this semifinal. They've been tested by some of Europe's best leading up to this showdown with PSG, but Paris will be plenty confident coming off their 2-0 blanking of FC Bayern Munich in their quarterfinal.
MetLife Stadium drew over 70,000 fans at 3:00 pm ET on a weekday in the first semifinal of the tournament, and the star power provided by both teams ensures we're likely in for another massive crowd for this one even despite the tricky start time. Now who will get their shot at Chelsea and at another major trophy? Here are five things to know before PSG vs Real Madrid.
Matthew Mangam
1. Dominant goalkeepers on either side.
Gianluigi Donnarumma is enjoying an almost-spotless Club World Cup in the PSG goal, with the club's one goal allowed the lowest goals against total of any team in the competition. Donnarumma leads all Club World Cup goalkeepers with four clean sheets, while he's also got the highest save percentage (92.3% of shots stopped) in the Club World Cup.
PSG and Donnarumma have been extremely tough to score against, but so too has Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Courtois has been asked to make more saves (he has 19 to Donnarumma's 12), but Courtois is also right there just behind Donnarumma in second place with the best save percentage (90.5%) among all the Club World Cup goalkeepers. Both men in goal will be tough players to beat, at least based on how they've performed so far through five matches.
Michael Battista
2. Madrid's selection dilemmas.
Xabi Alonso faces the enviable problem of having to fit all of Real Madrid's world-class attacking players into one lineup. Somewhat complicating things for the Spanish manager is the fact that he's gotten a breakout tournament from 21-year-old midfielder Gonzalo García, who is tied at the top of the Club World Cup goals scored leaderboard.
Would Alonso must make a tough call and drop García in favor of a ready-for-more-action Kylian Mbappé, or will Mbappé stay on the bench until his services are needed in the second half? Not many coaches have to choose between the highest-quality players at each position, and Alonso will have to disappoint one of his best attacking players, but who he chooses in which role will be a huge call.
Mark Radigan
3. PSG playing shorthanded
Two Paris players – Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez – received two-match bans after being sent off during the quarterfinal win over Bayern. Rather than appeal and maybe get the defenders back for a hypothetical CWC Final, the two were sent home from the tournament early. Pacho started in central defense throughout PSG's run to the semifinals, while Hernandez was the next-player-up when considering who'd replace Pacho for PSG. The Paris manager Luis Enrique will have to get creative with his backline while facing down that extremely potent Real Madrid attack. There could be a lot of action coming Donnarumma's way, at least if the Pacho and Hernandez replacements can't get their jobs done.
4. The adaptable Spanish engine room
Real Madrid derives a lot of its success from the strength the club enjoys in the middle of the pitch. Xabi Alonso hands the keys of his team over to a midfield usually comprised of Aurélien Tchouaméni, Fede Valverde, and Jude Bellingham, and that group makes the whole clock tick. They don't always play the exact same roles or positions within Alonso's midfield, because Xabi Alonso seems to float them around positionally and tactically depending on the opponent or the game state. As Managing Madrid wrote in their post-match reaction piece following the win over Borussia Dortmund, "Tchouameni, Jude, and Fede are Xabi's true Swiss Army knives—plugged into roles where they can exploit specific opposition weaknesses." How will this trio line up against PSG, and will Alonso introduce any wrinkles to throw off Luis Enrique and his team?
5. The X-Factor: Doué or Mbappé?
Which team's French star will play the biggest, difference-making role in this semifinal? One of these two players might decide which club walks out winners and seals one last runout on the controversial grass of the MetLife Stadium pitch for the final.
Désiré Doué was the star of the UEFA Champions League final and PSG's 5-0 humiliation of Inter Milan, but he's got just one goal in five starts at this Club World Cup. Mbappé only played in two of Madrid's five Club World Cup games, totaling a mere 47 minutes of game time. The French superstar did score an outrageous overhead kick in Real Madrid's 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund, but his role has been minimal throughout the Club World Cup.
Mbappé has tended to take over in the biggest matches he's played early in his already-storied career, while Doué is only a few months out from single-handedly working to deliver PSG's first Champions League trophy. Whichever one of these France national team stars shines brightest at MetLife could decide who gets one step closer to claiming that gaudy trophy.
