With two days to go before Real Madrid and PSG face each other in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup, more and more details are emerging about the match to be played at MetLife Stadium. This knockout stage of the competition organised by FIFA already has referees appointed by the International Federation.
The Polish referee Szymon Marciniak has been chosen to officiate the match between the rouge-et-bleu squad and Xabi Alonso’s pupils. It is not the first time that the White players have crossed paths with this referee, given that he is one of the most important and recognised for his work in the Champions League. FIFA has designated, for the second final of its star competition, a UEFA referee.
Kylian Mbappé has reacted differently to his teammates upon hearing the news. It is no wonder, since the White player has bad memories of one of his most notable matches. Marciniak was chosen by FIFA to referee the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar between Argentina and France, a match in which the now White ‘9’ gave perhaps the best individual performance of his career.
Will try to change everything
That match is still under analysis for the arbitral decisions taken by the Polish referee, which significantly changed the pace of the match. Beyond so much controversy, Kylian Mbappé relives what happened at the Lusail stadium two and a half years ago when he hears the name of the referee in charge of the semi-final between PSG and Real Madrid, to be played next Wednesday, July 9.
The Bondy attacker has gradually left behind the bitterness of losing the World Cup final in Qatar. One of his first measures to definitively close that chapter of his professional life was the Intercontinental Cup. Real Madrid played against the Mexican Pachucha in the final of the trophy, also organised by FIFA, at the Lusail stadium. On that occasion he was champion thanks to his goal and the goals of Rodrygo Goes and Vinícius Jr.
Another test
The Club World Cup semi-final match between PSG and Real Madrid adds more and more incentives to be a memorable encounter. Not only because of the notable differences recorded between both clubs over the years, with Mbappé himself in the center of all those hostilities, but because of the situation of the French striker himself.
Not in vain he has been forced to stay out of Xabi Alonso’s match plans, due to acute gastroenteritis, until the round of 16. Now that he is recovering playing time, against Juventus of Turin and Borussia Dortmund, it is the ideal moment for him to reconnect with his best version, the same one he had shown during the second half of the last league campaign.