Breakout tournament star Gonzalo García scored his third goal of the Club World Cup to power Real Madrid past Juventus, 1-0, and into the quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon in Miami Gardens, Florida.
García has started all four of Real Madrid’s matches because of a gastrointestinal illness to star striker Kylian Mbappé. The 21-year-old broke a second-half tie with a header in the 54th minute, giving him a goal contribution in every match of the tournament.
“I know this is an incredible opportunity in my life, so I’m doing what I can to be able to take advantage of that,” Garcia said.
Real Madrid will face Borussia Dortmund on Saturday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for a spot in the semifinals of the 32-team tournament.
García subbed out in the 68th as Mbappé checked in, making his Club World Cup debut after he was briefly hospitalized with the illness. He missed Real Madrid’s three group stage matches.
García’s header Tuesday came after Real Madrid had forced Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio into consecutive spectacular saves in the opening minutes of the second half. It was an incredible performance from the Italian goalie, whose 10 saves kept the match close.
It was a scoreless and evenly contested first half, the first time either team had been held without a goal in the opening half of a match in the tournament. Both sides had chances, including Randal Kolo Muani’s effort that went over the bar seven minutes in and Federico Valverde’s shot that was denied by Di Gregorio before the end of the half.
But Real Madrid overwhelmed Juventus in the second half, finishing with 11 shots on target to 2.
There were loud cheers from the 62,149 fans at Hard Rock Stadium when Mbappé came into the game. Many were wearing his jersey and yelling “Mbappé! Mbappé!”
“What changes when Mbappé gets on the pitch? Well, it’s like when you drive a car. Real Madrid drives at 200 kilometers, but with Mbappé, they speed up even more,” Juventus coach Igor Tudor said through an interpreter.
In Atlanta …
Borussia Dortmund 2, Monterrey 1: Serhou Guirassy scored a pair of first-half goals, both assisted by Karim Adeyemi, and Dortmund held off feisty Monterrey in the final Round of 16 game of the tournament.
Guirassy drove a shot just inside the left post in the 14th minute, then sent another past keeper Esteban Andrada in the 24th when left unmarked from 15 yards at the top of the penalty area.
Both times, it was Adeyemi delivering the pass that set up Guirassy, a native of France who plays for Guinea’s national team. The 29-year-old striker has three goals in four tournament games and 37 across all competitions in his first season with Dortmund.
“I think I could have scored three goals at least, but I’m happy I helped the team,” Guirassy said. “The most important thing was to win the game.”
Jobe Bellingham received a yellow card in the 28th minute and will miss the quarterfinal against Real Madrid – and his brother, former Dortmund star Jude Bellingham – because of yellow card accumulation.
Rayados, cheered by a large contingent of flag-waving supporters in Atlanta, bounced back from the sluggish start to make a game of it.
Less than three minutes into second half, a cross to the far post deflected off the head of a Dortmund defender before Érick Aguirre headed it back across the net to Germán Berterame, who headed it in to cut the deficit to a single goal.
Using its speed to attack Dortmund vertically, Monterrey dominated the second half and had several chances to level the score. But the German team held on, despite the Mexican squad holding a 59% edge in possession and a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal.
“We played a fantastic game from the first minute to the last one,” Monterrey captain Sergio Ramos through an interpreter. “… All the players who have been involved in the Premier League and the Spanish competition know the quality of the Mexican teams. We don’t need to sell it.”
Dortmund’s victory means five of the eight clubs in the quarterfinals are from Europe. Monterrey was the last club left from North America.
The late game drew a crowd of 31,442 at cavernous Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the upper deck wasn’t needed. But the sweltering U.S. heat wasn’t an issue with the roof closed in Atlanta.
American Gio Reyna did not play for the third time in four games at the Club World Cup, another sign that his tenure with Dortmund could be winding down.
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