Real Madrid shines in front of a 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 3-0 victory, Madrid came out on top in both the game and in Group H, and advanced to a round-of-16 game against Italian club Juventus at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on Tuesday.

“We seemed to click out there. We had a game plan, we executed it really well and we were very happy with the win today,” Trent Alexander Arnold, a new signing for Real Madrid from Liverpool, said after the game. “It was our aim to top the group. Still unbeaten and, today, three goals and a clean sheet is a good confidence boost going into the round of 16.”

The game, which was played in the rain after the last few matchups took place in scorching heat, drew 64,811 spectators to the Linc, the largest attendance at the stadium this tournament. The venue’s average attendance before this game was 36,560 from five games, and Thursday night was not far off the stadium’s record soccer attendance (69,879), 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 some seats to widen the pitch to its specifications. 

Ticket prices for this game started at around $250 on Ticketmaster before kickoff, making it the priciest of Philly’s games so far by a lot. Real Madrid is the most valuable soccer team in the world, and also the most followed, especially among Spanish-speaking communities. Even if you don’t support the team, getting to see the current and past “Galacticos” — Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham — in the team’s white uniforms is on many a soccer fan’s bucket list.

Unbalanced in the stands

Moses and Tanya Gutierrez came in from Los Angeles for the game. It was their first Club World Cup game, but not their first time seeing Real Madrid. Last year, they went to Santiago Bernabéu Stadium to see the team play a home game, 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 actually, you know, go for it,” he said.

Salzburg, owned by energy drink and sports conglomerate Red Bull, is a dominant force in the Austrian Bundesliga. That said, it was hard to pick out the Salzburg supporters in the stands, just like it was hard to find many to interview outside the stadium before the game. 

Among the few were Alexander Kremsmair, his wife Magan and parents Erich and Susanna, who came to the game wearing Austrian national team jerseys in support of Salzburg.

“It’s fantastic to be able to represent,” Alexander said. “It would be great if there would be more of us here, but, of course, the jump is big over the pond, right? But we’re proud to wear the jerseys.”

Alexander and Magan live near Trenton and aligned Erich and Susanna’s visit from Vienna with the game. He revealed that a Salzburg win would have some extra significance for him.

“I’m a big Barcelona fan. I just want [Real Madrid] to lose, so badly,” he said.

Real Madrid’s biggest rivals, Barcelona, played in the first ticketed game ever at the Linc back in August 2003, in a friendly against Manchester United. 

Mbappé, one of the Real Madrid superstars that many were hoping to see on the field, did not play as he recovers after being hospitalized with gastroenteritis earlier this summer.

A consequential game

The game had real stakes. Both teams had 4 points in the group-stage round going into the game, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the knockout rounds. A draw would have seen both sides advance, if Saudi team Al Hilal didn’t win against Mexico’s Pachuca in the game being played in Nashville at the same time.

The pressure on Salzburg grew when it was announced 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 found the scoresheet first, though. Vinicius Junior — who was denied in the 20th 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 40th minute.

Madrid made it 2-0 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 66th minute, when Edmund Baidoo’s shot was cleared by Bellingham. Replays showed it was headed slightly off target.  

The third and final Madrid goal came in the 84th minute by Gonzalo García, who capitalized on a lax pass by Joane Gadou and chipped the ball over the goalkeeper. 

In the other game, Al Hilal won 2-0 to advance, and Salzburg was out of the tournament.

“Of course, 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 Kjærgaard said after the game. “If we wanted to get a result today, we had to play our best football. I think [we did] in some periods of the game over there, but in all, 90 minutes, they were better than us.”

Despite the loss, Kjærgaard appreciated the atmosphere in the stadium on the night, and the experience of competing in the tournament overall.

“I think today was amazing. Not so many were cheering for us, but, of course, [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 said that Europe could learn from the fans, fields (“pitches” in soccer talk)  and conditions this summer.

Real Madrid’s Aurélien Tchouaméni 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 said. “The pitch was really good, so obviously it’s easier to play a good game.”

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-16 match. The winner of that game will return to take on the winner between Portuguese side Benfica and Chelsea in a quarterfinal game on the Fourth of July at 9 p.m.