Real Madrid shines in front of packed Linc in Philly’s last FIFA Club World Cup group game

Philly rounded out its group-stage games of the FIFA Club World Cup with a Linc-filling clash between Spanish superclub Real Madrid and Austrian giants FC Salzburg on Thursday night With the - success Madrid came out on top in both the challenge and in Group H and advanced to a round-of- championship against Italian club Juventus at Miami s Hard Rock Stadium on Tuesday We seemed to click out there We had a tournament plan we executed it really well and we were very happy with the win nowadays Trent Alexander Arnold a new signing for Real Madrid from Liverpool stated after the battle It was our aim to top the group Still unbeaten and nowadays three goals and a clean sheet is a good confidence boost going into the round of The match which was played in the rain after the last sparse matchups took place in scorching heat drew spectators to the Linc the largest attendance at the stadium this tournament The venue s average attendance before this event was from five games and Thursday night was not far off the stadium s record soccer attendance set last year in the exhibition match between English Premier League sides Liverpool and Arsenal That record might have been topped if FIFA hadn t removed various seats to widen the pitch to its specifications Real Madrid s Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his club s first goal during the Club World Cup Group H soccer match between Salzburg and Real Madrid in Philadelphia Thursday June AP Photo Matt Slocum Ticket prices for this championship started at around on Ticketmaster before kickoff making it the priciest of Philly s games so far by a lot Real Madrid is the the majority valuable soccer gang in the world and also the greater part followed especially among Spanish-speaking communities Even if you don t endorsement the association getting to see the current and past Galacticos Kylian Mbapp Vinicius Junior Jude Bellingham Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham in the gang s white uniforms is on multiple a soccer fan s bucket list Unbalanced in the stands Moses and Tanya Gutierrez came in from Los Angeles for the match It was their first Club World Cup contest but not their first time seeing Real Madrid Last year they went to Santiago Bernab u Stadium to see the squad play a home competition a childhood dream come true for Moses He had also seen them play preseason games in LA but felt that those friendly games lacked the competitiveness that a regular season or tournament match like the Club World Cup does It s amazing especially for people that haven t had the opportunity to see them this close to home to see them in fact you know go for it he commented Real Madrid supporters Moses from left Tanya and Heather Gutierrez came for Los Angeles for the FIFA Club World Cup meeting against FC Salzburg Nick Kariuki Billy Penn Salzburg owned by force drink and sports conglomerate Red Bull is a dominant force in the Austrian Bundesliga That revealed it was hard to pick out the Salzburg supporters in the stands just like it was hard to find multiple to interview outside the stadium before the battle Among the scant were Alexander Kremsmair his wife Magan and parents Erich and Susanna who came to the tournament wearing Austrian national group jerseys in sponsorship of Salzburg It s fantastic to be able to represent Alexander commented It would be great if there would be more of us here but of unit the jump is big over the pond right But we re proud to wear the jerseys Alexander Kremsmair from left his wife Magan and parents Susanna and Erich were among the very sparse FC Salzburg fans for the association s FIFA Club World Cup contest against Real Madrid Nick Kariuki Billy Penn Alexander and Magan live near Trenton and aligned Erich and Susanna s visit from Vienna with the contest He revealed that a Salzburg win would have chosen extra significance for him I m a big Barcelona fan I just want Real Madrid to lose so badly he commented Real Madrid s biggest rivals Barcelona played in the first ticketed challenge ever at the Linc back in August in a friendly against Manchester United Mbapp one of the Real Madrid superstars that a large number of were hoping to see on the field did not play as he recovers after being hospitalized with gastroenteritis earlier this summer A consequential championship The match had real stakes Both teams had points in the group-stage round going into the contest with the top two teams in each group advancing to the knockout rounds A draw would have seen both sides advance if Saudi band Al Hilal didn t win against Mexico s Pachuca in the match being played in Nashville at the same time The pressure on Salzburg grew when it was released that Salem Al Dawsari had scored for Al Hilal with the goal being shown on the Linc s big screens Keenly aware that they were now in third and facing elimination Salzburg went from a more defensive posture to pushing into Real Madrid s half in search of an advantage It was Madrid who uncovered the scoresheet first though Vinicius Junior who was denied in the th minute by a fantastic left-foot save from goalkeeper Christian Zawieschitzky ran on to a pass from Bellingham crossed up his defender and scored in the bottom corner in the th minute Madrid made it - before halftime with Vinicius teeing up captain Federico Valverde with a backheel pass for a close-range shot In the second half Salzburg came out more aggressively and came closest in the th minute when Edmund Baidoo s shot was cleared by Bellingham Replays displayed it was headed slightly off target The third and final Madrid goal came in the th minute by Gonzalo Garc a who capitalized on a lax pass by Joane Gadou and chipped the ball over the goalkeeper Real Madrid s Vinicius Junior celebrates with teammate Gonzalo Garcia left after scoring his gang s first goal during the Club World Cup Group H soccer match between Salzburg and Real Madrid in Philadelphia Thursday June AP Photo Matt Slocum In the other match Al Hilal won - to advance and Salzburg was out of the tournament Of class we are disappointed but we also have to look inside and look at our opponent really really strong one of the best in the world Salzburg s Danish midfielder Maurits Kj rgaard mentioned after the championship If we needed to get a impact nowadays we had to play our best football I think we did in several periods of the contest over there but in all minutes they were better than us Despite the loss Kj rgaard appreciated the atmosphere in the stadium on the night and the experience of competing in the tournament overall I think in contemporary times was amazing Not so several were cheering for us but of program there are a lot of Real supporters all over the world You can also see it in the States It s a club for everybody everywhere So it was a really great experience He was also impressed by the teams from around the world that had participated in the newly expanded version of the tournament and announced that Europe could learn from the fans fields pitches in soccer talk and conditions this summer Real Madrid s Aur lien Tchouam ni also complimented the atmosphere in the Linc You know that we are Real Madrid so you know that wherever we play we re going to have the fans with us So thanks for them he mentioned The pitch was really good so obviously it s easier to play a good event Philly will host two knockout stage games in the tournament Brazilian sides Botafogo and Palmerias will face off at noon Saturday in a round-of- match The winner of that challenge will return to take on the winner between Portuguese side Benfica and Chelsea in a quarterfinal tournament on the Fourth of July at p m Franlin Monuz right and his father Nelson came from Hudson County N J to patronage Real Madrid against FC Salzburg in the FIFA Club World CUp event in Philadelphia Nick Kariuki Billy Penn Former Real Madrid performer Davor Suker poses for a picture with fans before the Club World Cup Group H soccer match between Salzburg and Real Madrid in Philadelphia Thursday June AP Photo Matt Rourke Red Bull Salzburg s Frans Kratzig right and Real Madrid s Trent Alexander-Arnold compete for the ball during the Club World Cup Group H soccer match between Salzburg and Real Madrid in Philadelphia Thursday June AP Photo Matt Slocum Fans sit in heavy rain as they watch the Club World Cup Group H soccer match between Salzburg and Real Madrid in Philadelphia Thursday June AP Photo Matt Slocum Fans cheer before the Club World Cup Group H soccer match between Salzburg and Real Madrid in Philadelphia Thursday June AP Photo Matt Rourke The post Real Madrid shines in front of packed Linc in Philly s last FIFA Club World Cup group challenge appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY