{"id":5234,"date":"2025-06-22T12:52:08","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T12:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/5234\/"},"modified":"2025-06-22T12:52:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T12:52:08","slug":"will-mbappe-play-in-the-fifa-club-world-cup-football-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/5234\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Mbappe play in the FIFA Club World Cup? | Football News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The FIFA Club World Cup has entered its second week, and one of the tournament\u2019s star attractions<\/a>, Kylian Mbappe, has yet to step on the football field.<\/p>\n

The Real Madrid forward was first ruled out when he missed his side\u2019s opening match against Al Hilal on Wednesday, but his exclusion from the match-day squad was extended when Real coach Xabi Alonso confirmed Mbappe would also miss<\/a> their second game against Pachuca on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to know about the Mbappe situation:<\/p>\n

Why did Mbappe go to the hospital before the Club World Cup?<\/p>\n

Mbappe received treatment in Florida, United States, after suffering from a high fever and an illness<\/a> later diagnosed as gastroenteritis.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur player Kylian Mbappe is suffering from an acute case of gastroenteritis and has been admitted to hospital in order to undergo a series of tests and follow the appropriate course of treatment,\u201d Real Madrid said<\/a> in a statement on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The statement did not indicate when Mbappe was admitted, but another update from the club, seven hours later, confirmed that he had been discharged after receiving treatment and returned to Real Madrid\u2019s training ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cMbappe will continue with specific medical treatment and will gradually return to team activity,\u201d the club said.<\/p>\n

What is gastroenteritis, and how did Mbappe get it?<\/p>\n

Gastroenteritis \u2013 also known as the stomach flu or tummy bug \u2013 is a common illness that causes diarrhoea, fever and vomiting.<\/p>\n

\u201cGastroenteritis is usually caused by a bacterial or viral tummy bug and affects people of all ages,\u201d according to the United Kingdom\u2019s National Health Service (NHS).<\/p>\n

While it has not been revealed how the Real Madrid star caught the illness, the NHS says \u201ccases in adults are usually caused by norovirus or bacterial food poisoning\u201d.<\/p>\n

How many games will Mbappe miss at the Club World Cup?<\/p>\n

The France captain has so far missed one game and has been ruled out of another by Real\u2019s manager, Xabi Alonso.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe [Mbappe] is better,\u201d Alonso said in his pre-match news conference on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been two days since he came back from hospital. He\u2019s recovering, and day by day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FILEMbappe, second left, took part in Real Madrid\u2019s training before the Club World Cup at the Gardens North Country District Park at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, but was ruled out of their opening game [File: Hannah McKay\/Reuters]
\nWho will replace Mbappe for Real Madrid\u2019s Club World Cup games?<\/p>\n

Gonzalo Garcia, part of Real Madrid\u2019s second team, replaced Mbappe in the club\u2019s opening game<\/a>, which ended in a 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old opened the scoring for Real, leading Alonso to entrust him with another start.<\/p>\n

\u201cGonzalo can do what he did the other day [against Al Hilal],\u201d the Spanish manager said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe scored a goal and had three chances. Looking ahead, we\u2019ll see what happens. Having players with that sense of smell is very important. He did very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will Mbappe play in the Club World Cup?<\/p>\n

Alonso has hinted that Mbappe could be included in his squad for Real\u2019s last group game against FC Salzburg on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re increasingly optimistic about him for the next match.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gastroenteritis, according to the NHS, usually clears up by itself within a week. While the 26-year-old may be cleared of the illness by Wednesday, it remains to be seen if he will be match-day fit, especially as the game is a late afternoon kickoff amid hot conditions.<\/p>\n

Should Real qualify for the round of 16, Mbappe\u2019s chances of playing out a full game will increase, given the rest period between the last group-stage match and the first knockout game.<\/p>\n

\"SoccerMbappe during a warm-up session [File: Susana Vera\/Reuters]
\nWhat\u2019s Real Madrid\u2019s schedule at the Club World Cup?<\/p>\n

After Sunday\u2019s game against Pachuca, the Spanish giants will finish<\/a> their Group H run with a fixture against RB Salzburg at the Lincoln Field in Philadelphia on Thursday at 19:00 GMT.<\/p>\n

Should Real top Group H, they will play their first knockout game against the runners-up of Group G on July 1 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami at 19:00 GMT.<\/p>\n

If they finish second in the group, Real will play the winners of Group G at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando on June 30 at 9pm (01:00 GMT, July 1).<\/p>\n

Has Mbappe won a Club World Cup?<\/p>\n

No. Mbappe has never participated in the Club World Cup before, as only one European team \u2013 the winners of the UEFA Champions League \u2013 entered the tournament under its previous rules.<\/p>\n

While Real Madrid have won the tournament on a record five occasions, Mbappe was still plying his trade in the French Ligue 1 at the time, and his then clubs PSG and Monaco did not participate in the competition.<\/p>\n

Can Real Madrid win the Club World Cup without Mbappe?<\/p>\n

Los Blancos have an impeccable record<\/a> in club competitions, having won the most European and Club World Cup titles in history. They have won the continent\u2019s premier club competition on five occasions in the last 10 years.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, Mbappe was not part of Real\u2019s last La Liga, Champions League and Club World Cup triumphs, having joined the club at the beginning of the 2024-25 season.<\/p>\n

It is fair to say the club has done quite well without its star Frenchman, but would not mind having his services for the remainder of the Club World Cup.<\/p>\n

\"SoccerWhile Mbappe is a fan favourite, he is one of the many Real Madrid stars adored by football fans [File: Marco Bello\/Reuters]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The FIFA Club World Cup has entered its second week, and one of the tournament\u2019s star attractions, Kylian…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5235,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1318,50,1926,62,67,132,68,72],"class_list":{"0":"post-5234","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-sport","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-us-canada"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114727114778763851","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}