Two Fluminense players will not be fit to face Chelsea, with two also suspended; PSG and Real also have problems
With the semi-finalists of the Club World Cup defined, the coaches of Fluminense, Chelsea, Real Madrid and PSG are now looking for ways to replace the players who are missing. In total, seven players were punished in the quarter-finals and will not be able to take the field in the next phase.
The only Brazilian representative in the title race, the Tricolor from Rio will not be able to count on defender Freytes and midfielder Martinelli against the Blues. After all, they received their second yellow card in the 2-1 victory over Al-Hilal. Thiago Santos and Hércules are the immediate substitutes, but Renato Gaúcho will have two training sessions to define the best formation for the duel next Tuesday (8/7), at 4 pm (Brasília time), in New Jersey.
The Rio de Janeiro team’s opponent in one of the semi-finals, Chelsea also has two players out due to suspension: defender Colwill and striker Delap, who received their second yellow card in the 2-1 victory over Palmeiras.
Without his number 9, coach Enzo Maresca can count on João Pedro, who was discovered by Tricolor and made his debut by coming on well in the final stage against the São Paulo team.
Three suspended in the other World Cup semi-final
In the other semi-final, which will take place on Wednesday (9/7), also in New Jersey, Real Madrid and PSG will not have full strength. This is because defender Willian Pacho and left-back Lucas Hernández, on the French side, were sent off in the 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich. Former São Paulo player Lucas Beraldo is one of the alternatives in defense for coach Luis Enrique. Lucas Hernández, on the other hand, appeared as an option on the bench.
Finally, Real Madrid managed to prevent Jude Bellingham and Vini Jr, two of whom were suspended, from receiving suspensions in the 3-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund. However, defender Huijsen was not so lucky. Having received a straight red card for committing a penalty on Guirrassy in the last play of the game, he will have to serve a suspension against the current European champions. The relief for the winners of these clashes is that yellow cards are cleared in the Club World Cup semi-finals.
