Courtois asks teammates to play smarter

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was not satisfied with the performance of his junior Raul Asencio in the 3-1 victory over Pachuca at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ in the early morning of June 23.

Real Madrid won the first match at the FIFA Club World Cup. In the early morning of June 23, Real defeated Pachuca 3-1 in the second match, Group F of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™.

In the 7th minute, Real were down to 10 men when centre-back Asencio was sent off for fouling an opponent. From there, Pachuca began to press, forcing goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to continuously show his talent with excellent saves to help Real avoid conceding goals.

After the match, Courtois shared with the press: "Asencio made a mistake for the second time. He needs to play smarter."

Afterwards, the Belgian goalkeeper also spoke up to comfort the young centre-back and believed that Asencio would quickly return: "He knows he was wrong, there is no problem. We will fight for Asencio to win even without him on the field."

In the opening match of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ against Al Hilal, Asencio also made a mistake that led to Real being awarded a penalty. From 11 meters away, Ruben Neves easily fooled Courtois, helping the Saudi Arabian club equalize 1-1.

With Asencio suspended for one match and unable to play against Salzburg on June 27, coach Xabi Alonso will have to choose one of two names, Antonio Rudiger or Aurelien Tchouameni, to play as a central defender alongside new signing Dean Huijsen.

The win moves Real Madrid closer to the knockout stages and marks a promising start to Alonso's reign. The Bernabeu side currently top Group H with four points, but have played one game more than Salzburg and Al Hilal.

Source: https://znews.vn/courtois-yeu-cau-dong-doi-choi-thong-minh-hon-post1562887.html