Dean Huijsen Opens Up About Dream Real Madrid Debut and Inspiring Halftime Words From Club Legend
Real Madrid center-back Dean Huijsen believes his first appearance went "smoothly", completing the full 90 minutes in Wednesday's Club World Cup match against Al Hilal.
Huijsen was paired with Raúl Asencio in the heart of the defense until new manager Xabi Alonso made a surprising tactical change at the break, withdrawing Asencio and introducing midfielder Arda Güler. Aurelien Tchouameni subsequently moved back to partner him in the defensive line.
Los Blancos found themselves stifled by the Saudi Arabian side, taking an early lead through unexpected starter Gonzalo García—Kylian Mbappé was notably absent, with the reasons becoming clear later.
An Al Hilal spot-kick near the conclusion of the opening period leveled the match, and that's how the scoreline remained, with Real failing to regain their advantage.
"I believe my debut performance was solid. I feel we deserved a more favorable outcome than what we achieved. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be, and we must continue our efforts," Huijsen reflected when speaking to the media after the match.
The young Spanish international also shared the tactical instructions Alonso provided during the interval.
"Xabi instructed us to maintain our work rate and keep control of the ball. He emphasized that opportunities would present themselves through this approach," he explained.
The second period lacked significant scoring opportunities, with the tempo decreasing as the match progressed. Al Hilal recognized they were positioned for a memorable result and focused on preserving it, while Real's players appeared to struggle with the intense heat of south Florida's afternoon conditions as they searched for a breakthrough.
Nevertheless, there remained an opportunity to secure victory in the dying moments.
VAR identified a violation when Mohammed Al-Qahtani's swinging arm made contact with Fran García's face inside the penalty box. Federico Valverde took responsibility from the spot in the final minute of the encounter, but his effort was denied by Yassine Bounou in the Al Hilal net.