Real Madrid Confidencial The light that will indicate if Real Madrid - Salzburg should be suspended, maximum 30 minutes
Xabi Alonso and his players are paying attention to FIFA's instructions regarding the match with Salzburg
All eyes in the world of soccer will be on Spain tonight for the match between Real Madrid and Salzburg.
This "final" between the two best teams in Group H of the Club World Cup will bring down the curtain on this initial round, so the round of 16 will begin.
Xabi Alonso, beyond the opponent it may face in the next stage, has already made it clear that they're going out to win at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
"We have two goals for tomorrow: to win and to finish first in the group. In the last match, despite being one man down, we had good feelings both with and without the ball. We played a good match and now we want to do it with 11 for the full 90 minutes against a demanding and dynamic opponent. We know we're in the decisive stage, the last match of the group, and already with the goal of advancing to the next stage as group leaders," the Tolosa native explained at a press conference.
Risk of suspension
However, Real Madrid's coach and the players are aware of the risk of thunderstorms threatening Philadelphia.
FIFA has already warned both clubs about this, so the match might not be played, something that Madridists hope will remain just a warning.
Beyond this, in the United States they have a very clear rule and the competent authorities won't hesitate to apply it.
"If lightning strikes or there are signs of electrical discharge within an 8 mi. (13 km) radius of the stadium, the match is automatically suspended. The stands are emptied, the players return to the locker rooms, and the clock starts. There must be a minimum wait of 30 minutes without seeing lightning or hearing thunder within that radius before considering resuming. If another lightning strike occurs, the clock resets", the rule states.
This is something the Merengue team already knows, so they'll wait alertly at the team hotel.
The initial idea is for the match to be played and FIFA expects the same, since the round of 16 of the Club World Cup is just around the corner.
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