INTERCONTINENTAL CUP
Real Madrid include players with long-term injuries in Intercontinental Cup squad list
Long-term casualties Dani Carvajal, Alaba and Militão have been registered for the tournament and will receive medals if Madrid win.
As far as Real Madrid are concerned, if the team manages to clinch the Intercontinental Cup in Qatar next week, every member of the first team squad will receive a winners' medal - even those ones who won’t be physically taking part in the tournament.
For their part in helping the team get to this stage (by winning last season’s Champions League), players who are currently out recovering from long-term injuries have been officially registered for the tournament - even though they have no chance of playing.
Dani Carvajal and Militão were two of the first names to be added to the squad list. They have been included along with David Alaba, who is facing the final stretch of his recovery and could return next month.
The club has registered all three players so that, if the team lifts the trophy, they will be officially recognized and the triumph will be included on their own personal honors lists. It’s an internal gesture to show gratitude for what all three have contributed before their injuries.
It has not yet been decided whether Carvajal and Militão will travel with the squad to Qatar, although there is a possibility that both of them will in an exercise of unity and, above all, leadership. Beyond the fact that they cannot play, everyone in the dressing room recognizes what they bring to the group off the field - experience, confidence, encouragement, advice, strength...
While Carvajal has five Club World Cup winners' medals, Alaba has three and Militao, one, the Intercontinental Cup is a brand new tournament - an offshoot of the old Club World Cup and a nod to the original competition which ran from 1960 to 2004.
When do Real Madrid play in the 2024 Intercontinental Cup?
Real Madrid have automatically qualified for the final, where they will meet the winners of Match 4 between CONCACAF Champions Cup winners Pachuca (who beat Botafogo 0-3 in the Derby of the Americas) or Egypt’s Al Ahly, who claimed the African–Asian–Pacific Cup beating Al-Ain by the same score.
The 2024 Intercontinental Cup final will be played at iconic Lusail Stadium in Doha (the same venue that held the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France), on Wednesday 18 December 2024, scheduled to kick off at 12 noon ET / 9 a.m. PT (local time; 8 p.m. AST).
Viewers in the United States will be able to watch the game live on Fox Sports Channel or on
Madrid’s encounters with Pachuca and Al Ahly
Madrid have faced Mexican teams in the past but have never crossed paths with Pachuca. The Spanish giants have however met Al Ahly before - once, in the semi-finals of the 2022 Club World Cup which Madrid won 1-4 with goals from Vinicius, Fede Valverde, Rodrygo and Sergio Arribas. Ali Maâloul pulled one back for the Egyptians from the penalty spot.
Real Madrid won the old Intercontinental Cup in its previous guise in 1960, 1998 and 2002, beating Peñarol, Vasco da Gama and Olimpia respectively.
Before heading to Qatar, Ancelotti’s team face city rivals Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga on Saturday night. Madrid are second in the table on 36 points, two behind Barcelona.