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This will be a historic day in André Carrillo's sports career, as he will play in the final of the Club World Cup for the first time. He will face Real Madrid, who arrive at this stage as the current champion of the Champions League and after defeating Egyptian Al Ahly. The 'Culebra' has been confirmed as a starter at Al Hilal, and just like in the previous rounds against Wydad and Flamengo, he will leave the wing to play as a midfielder alongside Gustavo Cuéllar and Mohamed Kanno.
In the pre-match in Morocco, the player trained in Alianza Lima did not hide his excitement and posted a popular phrase on his Instagram account, coined a few years ago by Luis 'Cuto' Guadalupe: " Faith is the most beautiful thing in life". If that same faith allowed him and his team to defeat one of the favorites in the semis, why not believe that they can do the same against the 'Merengues' today?
Perhaps today we will witness another feat by an Arab team, as mentioned a few hours ago by André Carrillo himself: the level of the clubs in the Saudi league is not surprising, as they have been performing well for several years, it's just that nowadays they have more exposure. " I believe that Arab football has been going through a good moment for a long time, it has a high level. What it lacks is the visibility that other leagues may have, now it is becoming more known because they are hiring players and the league is being broadcast in other countries," he said in an interview with 'A Presión'.
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Real Madrid vs. Al Hilal: what's coming up
After this match for the Club World Cup final, Real Madrid must refocus on LaLiga Santander and concentrate on improving their numbers if they want to challenge Barcelona for the title. On Wednesday, February 15, they will host Elche at the Santiago Bernabéu, in the match scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
Carlo Ancelotti's team is obliged to win if they want to continue in the fight for the championship, especially because in the last match, before their trip to Morocco, they surprisingly lost away to Mallorca (1-0). Possibly by then, they can count on the return of Thibaut Courtois, the main absentee in the 'Mundialito'.
Al Hilal, on the other hand, will face Al Fayha for the seventeenth matchday of the Saudi Professional League and, just like Real Madrid, they must win to continue fighting to take the lead from Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr. Ramón Díaz's team is currently fourth in the standings with 32 points, five less than the team led by 'Bicho'.
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