Overview
Al-Hilal will try to build on their strength after a difficult draw against Real Madrid. They will face Red Bull Salzburg in their second match at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Meanwhile, Salzburg are aiming to start the tournament with two consecutive wins after defeating Pachuca.
Coach Thomas Letsch helped Salzburg win second place in the Austrian national championship last season. He previously replaced Man City's current assistant coach Pep Lijnders in December last year.
After finishing their domestic campaign with consecutive victories, Salzburg continues to perform well. They won all 3 points in the opening match of the FIFA Club World Cup against the Spanish team Pachuca.
Thanks to this victory, Salzburg is currently 2 points ahead of Real Madrid and Al-Hilal. Another win would see them secure a place in the round of 16 before the break-up against Los Blancos.
Salzburg could have to work hard to neutralize Al-Hilal's attacking threat. They have only kept a clean sheet once in their previous 9 matches.
Al-Hilal entered the tournament with a new coach after appointing Simone Inzaghi.
Inzaghi's final match as head coach of Inter Milan was a 0-5 defeat to Paris St-Germain in the Champions League final. Therefore, he will feel relieved when his new team performs impressively in the opening match of the FIFA Club World Cup against Real Madrid.
The team from the Saudi Pro League struggled to hold Los Blancos to a 1-1 draw. Ruben Neves scored from the penalty spot to level the score after Gonzalo Garcia scored for Real Madrid.
Thanks to this draw, Al-Hilal have avoided defeat in the last 6 matches since they lost 1-3 to Al-Ahli in the AFC Champions League semi-finals.
They have also scored in their last 15 matches, including 10 in the Saudi Pro League. Al-Hilal ended the 2024-2025 campaign as the team with the most goals in the tournament (95 goals in 34 matches).
Inzaghi hopes his side will show that strength against Salzburg. The 49-year-old is looking for another win against Salzburg, having beaten them three of the four times he has faced before in his coaching career.
Expected lineup:
Salzburg: Zawieschitzky, Lainer, Gadou, Ram cur cur, Kratzig, Bidstrup, Diabate, Dorgeles, Gloukh, Onisiwo, Vertessen.
Al-Hilal: Bono, Cancelo, Tambakti, Koulibaly, Lodi, Neves, N. Al-Dawsari, Malcom, Milinkovic-Savic, S. Al-Dawsari, Leonardo.
The match between Salzburg and Al-Hilal takes place at 5:00 a.m. on June 23 (Vietnam time).
