'Big possibility' Mbappé plays for Madrid vs. Juve

Kylian Mbappé is close to making his FIFA Club World Cup debut in Real Madrid's round of 16 clash against Juventus at the Club World Cup, with coach Xabi Alonso saying it is a "big possibility" that the forward will be fit to play.

Mbappe, 26, was forced to miss all three of Madrid's group games -- against Al Hilal, Pachuca and RB Salzburg -- after being diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis on the eve of the tournament.

Madrid reached the knockout stages by topping Group H to book their encounter with Italian giants Juventus at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens and Alonso is confident that France international Mbappe will finally be able to play.

"Kylian is doing well now and we are speaking every single day," Alonso told reporters. "We will talk to him in the morning to make the final decision.

"It's a big possibility that he makes his Club World Cup debut tomorrow, though. I don't know how much, but it's a big possibility."

Having replaced Carlo Ancelotti as coach at the end of the 2024-25 season, Alonso is less than a month into his new role at Madrd after leaving Bayer Leverkusen. And the former Madrid, Liverpool and Bayern Munich midfielder said that his job starts for real on Tuesday with the "all or nothing" Juventus game.

"Every single match is now all or nothing," Alonso said. "It's a huge match and we have been prepping for the last few weeks to be ready for tomorrow.

"We are at the knockout stage now, last 16 against a top team like Juve, so we will have to have a very complete performance to go through.

"This match is important. It's a very different competition to those we normally play in, but Real Madrid is very demanding and you are expected to win.

"This is our third week together. I am pumped, very excited, but there are so many things that you have to manage - footballers, so many people, based on trust for the future.

"We are spending a lot of time together, so that's helping us speed up the process. So far it has been very challenging. With such an intense competition in a short time, to be able to build our principles, it's challenging.

"We are building connections in these early stages, but we are reaching a moment where we have to do it tomorrow."

Juventus coach Igor Tudor has said he hopes Real's Luka Modric continues to "have fun at 40" ahead of what could be the midfielder's final game for the club.

Modric will leave Madrid for AC Milan after the Club World Cup and Tudor, a former Croatia teammate of Modric, said he only has love for the former Ballon d'Or winner.

"What can you say about Luka?" Tudor said. "We have less than 4 million people in Croatia, so a person like him brings a lot of pride for the country. He is a player that you all see, but he is just a normal person. He represents our country in the best possible way.

"I love him and I hope he will keep having fun, even though he is now 40."