Karim Benzema And Thibaut Courtois Are Only Spectators When Real Madrid Compete In The Club World Cup

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. (Photo: Twitter/@realmadrid)

JAKARTA - Real Madrid is facing a crushing blow ahead of the Club World Cup. The Spanish giants are certain to be without their two superstars, Karim Benzema and Thibaut Courtois.

Los Blancos are scheduled to play the semi-final match of the competition against Egyptian side Al Ahly on Thursday, 8 February at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

Unfortunately, the holder of the most titles in the competition is certain to be without several of their key players. Apart from these two names, Lucas Vazquez, Eder Militao, and Ferland Mendy are also confirmed to be absent.

They are not included in the 22 names of players on the Real Madrid squad list. They were left to focus on undergoing treatment.

📋✅ ¡Los 22 jugadores que viajan a Rabat! #ClubWC pic.twitter.com/rUMNcykgRf

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) February 6, 2023

Benzema and Militao both suffered feet injuries and were substituted during the match against Valencia on February 2.

Meanwhile, Courtois picked up a groin injury while warming up ahead of their recent La Liga match against Mallorca. Andriy Lunin then came on to replace the Belgian keeper.

As such, it is certain that the Ukraine international goalkeeper will retain his place against Al-Ahly after having been unable to assist his team in the 1-0 defeat at Mallorca.

Vazquez and Mendy are expected to be sidelined for a longer period of time. Therefore, Ancelotti has to do a big rotation in order to chase Los Blancos' fifth title from this event.

Real Madrid head to the Club World Cup as European Champions League champions. However, their performance in the last five matches is very concerning, namely only securing victory twice.

The defeat at home to Mallorca made their chances of becoming La Liga champions even smaller. They are now as many as eight points adrift of Barcelona who occupies the first position in the standings.