MADRID: Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti still has doubts about how to set up his defense for the return match against Leipzig in the round of 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday.
Madrid will enter the game at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium defending a 1-0 lead from the first leg in Germany three weeks ago.
Ancelotti didn’t say whether he will improvise again with midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni playing as a central defender or would promote Nacho Fernández to the position.
Tchouaméni has been one of the players who has pitched in defensively because of injuries to the team’s regular defenders.
“I’ve thought about it but I don’t want to give away any hints, I still have some doubts,” Ancelotti said Tuesday. “We played with Tchouaméni and (Antonio) Rüdiger because Nacho hadn’t practiced, he had a small ailment. Now he is available and has the same opportunity to start as the others.”
Madrid chose not to add any central defenders in the winter transfer window, with Ancelotti saying that the players he had were enough despite the many injuries affecting the club.
Nacho is a defender but isn’t a usual starter for Ancelotti. The coach also had to use right back Dani Carvajal as a central defender.
Madrid defender Éder Militão has been out since the season opener because of a serious knee injury and David Alaba tore his ACL in December. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois also has been out since before the season started with a knee ligament injury.
Leipzig’s attack is led by Loïs Openda, a Belgium international who has scored 21 goals — including four in the Champions League — this season.
Madrid are coming off a 2-2 draw at Valencia in the Spanish league. They have a seven-point lead over Girona in the competition.
“Tomorrow we have to show the best version of ourselves,” Ancelotti said. “The tie is not over yet. Talking about the season today is complicated. So far we have done very well but we still have a long way to go.”
Madrid have advanced past the round of 16 the last three seasons, reaching at least the semifinals every time and winning the title in 2022.
Ancelotti has doubts on defense for Real Madrid’s return game against Leipzig in Champions League
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Ancelotti has doubts on defense for Real Madrid’s return game against Leipzig in Champions League
- Tchouaméni has been one of the players who has pitched in defensively because of injuries to the team’s regular defenders
- “I’ve thought about it but I don’t want to give away any hints, I still have some doubts,” Ancelotti said Tuesday
FIFA accused of ‘monumental betrayal’ over latest World Cup ticket prices
- Fan organization Football Supporters Europe (FSE) described the current prices as “extortionate”
- The FSE called on FIFA to immediately halt ticket sales via national associations “until a solution that respects the tradition, universality, and cultural significance of the World Cup is found”
BERLIN: Soccer fans have accused FIFA of a “monumental betrayal” after latest prices for World Cup tickets began to circulate on Thursday.
The governing body allocates 8 percent of tickets to national associations for games involving their team to sell to the most loyal fans.
And a list published by the German soccer federation revealed prices ranged from $180-$700 for varying group stage games. The lowest price for the final was $4,185 and the highest was $8,680.
Those group-stage prices are very different from FIFA’s claims of $60 tickets being available, while the target from United States soccer officials when bidding for the tournament seven years ago was to offer hundreds of thousands of $21 seats across the opening phase of games.
Fan organization Football Supporters Europe (FSE) described the current prices as “extortionate.”
“This is a monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup, ignoring the contribution of supporters to the spectacle it is,” it said in a statement.
The English Football Association shared pricing information with the England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC) on Thursday evening, which showed that if a fan bought a ticket for every game through to the final it would cost just over $7,000.
FIFA said in September that tickets released through its website would initially range from $60 for group-stage matches to $6,730 for the final. But those prices are subject to change as it adopts dynamic pricing for the first time at the World Cup.
FIFA tickets are available in four categories, with the best seats in Category 1.
In the price list published by the German federation, there were only three categories.
The lowest priced ticket was $180 for Germany’s opening group game against Curacao in Houston. The lowest price for the semifinal was $920 rising to $1,125.
The FSE called on FIFA to immediately halt ticket sales via national associations “until a solution that respects the tradition, universality, and cultural significance of the World Cup is found.”
The Associated Press approached FIFA for comment.
Latest phase
FIFA launched its third phase of widespread ticket sales Thursday, with fans now able to apply for specific matches for the first time through its “Random Selection Draw.”
Following last week’s draw for the 2026 tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, an updated schedule has been published.
That means fans know when and where the likes of Lionel Messi and Argentina will play. Previous ticket ballots were blind as the qualification period had not even been completed and the draw was yet to take place.
Now participating nations have been placed in groups, with their paths through the tournament determined. For instance, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could go on to meet in the quarterfinals in Kansas City if both Argentina and Portugal top their respective groups.
Not that fans are guaranteed to get tickets to the games they apply for.
The draw opened Dec. 11 at 11 a.m. ET (1600 GMT) and closes Jan. 13, 2026.
FIFA says ticket applications can be made at any point during this window and the timing of entry will not impact the chances of success. Fans can apply via FIFA’s website for a maximum of four tickets per household per match and a maximum of 40 tickets throughout the tournament.
Fans will need a FIFA ID to apply for tickets and can pick which matches and which pricing category they want to apply for.
Successful applicants will be notified by email in February and charged automatically.
Prices
The last time the US hosted the World Cup in 1994 prices ranged from $25 to $475. In Qatar in 2022 prices ranged from around $70 to $1,600 when ticket details were announced.
Tickets for the final at MetLife Stadium on July 19 are already going for in excess of $11,000 on secondary resale sites.
For this tournament FIFA has also set up its own resale platform where it charges a 15 percent fee based on the total resale price.
FIFA said that closer to the tournament any remaining tickets will go on general sale on a first-come, first-served basis.
It did not reveal a time frame for the release of those remaining tickets.
