Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund meet in New Jersey on Saturday with a place in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals on the line.
The winner will face one of PSG or Bayern Munich in that semifinal, also in New Jersey, and the narratives are already swirling no matter who advances.
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Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid remained patient and eventually edged past Juventus 1-0 on Tuesday thanks to another goal from young striker Gonzalo Garcia. The Real players are getting used to Alonso’s preferred 3-5-2 system and with Kylian Mbappe now back from his stomach issue, they should kick on and will be the favorites to advance to the semifinals.
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In the last 16 Dortmund squeezed past Mexico’s Monterrey 2-1 as Serhou Guirassy remains red-hot and scored twice in the first half, then the Germans held on, just about, for the win. Niko Kovac has overseen a dramatic turnaround since he arrived in early 2025 as Dortmund surged at the end of the Bundesliga season with seven wins from their last eight to qualify for the Champions League. Don’t forget: these two teams met in the UEFA Champions League final just over 12 months ago.
How to watch Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 4pm ET Sunday (July 5)
Venue: MetLife Stadium — East Rutherford, New Jersey
TV Channel/Streaming: Stream every game live on DAZN, for free
Real Madrid team news, focus
The main team news for Real Madrid is that Jude Bellingham is out as he picked up a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation. That means he won’t be playing against his young brother, Jobe, which is a shame. The other big news for Real Madrid is that Mbappe returned to action off the bench against Juve and he will be pushing to start. Young striker Garcia has scored three goals in four games at the Club World Cup so far but surely Mbappe has to start. Elsewhere, Trent Alexander-Arnold picked up his first Real Madrid assist last time out and is looking comfortable in the right wing-back role.
Borussia Dortmund team news, focus
Like Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund also play a 3-5-2 system and they should make this a very tight game. Ryerson and Svensson are crucial at wing-back, while Guirassy is such a calm finisher and Dortmund create a lot of chances. Usually that is from out wide, while Karim Adeyemi has also been buzzing around and causing a nuisance of himself up top.
Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund prediction
Well, this is going to be very close to call. Dortmund won’t mind sitting deep and frustrating Real Madrid and they will be dangerous on the counter too. This could go to extra time but one of Real’s stars will be the difference. Real Madrid 2-1 Borussia Dortmund.
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