There are only a couple of team news items for the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday night, but there are indeed, huge items. Kylian Mbappe, hailed by many as the heir to the Lionel Messi and/or Cristiano Ronaldo G.O.A.T. discussion, is set to make his first appearance in a Real Madrid shirt.
After a half-decade of transfer talk tediousness, the Frenchman forward completed his move to the Spanish capital this summer.
UEFA Super Cup FYIs
Real Madrid (UCL Winner) vs Atalanta (UEL Winner)
Kickoff (local time): Wed. Aug 14, 9pm, Stadion Narodowy — Warsaw, Poland
Real Madrid Preview Stuff: Team News Starting XI Predictions
Fun Fact: A Los Blancos triumph would earn them an unprecedented six UEFA Super Cup title
Mbappe will make his Los Blancos debut, in midweek, in the Polish capital, in a preseason trophy game.
Team News For Both Sides
The other big team news item here is on the opposite touchline- Gianluca Scamacca. The 25-year-old Italian striker, who moved over from West Ham United last summer, for an initial £22.5 million plus a further £4.3 million in add-ons, got severely injured this preseason.
Scamacca injured his ACL, and now faces several months on the sideline.
By the way, we would just like to add that the UEFA Super Cup is an awesome idea that we would like to see other sports/leagues, in other countries, emulate. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to see the previous season’s NCAA Tournament/March Madness champion take on the previous season’s NIT winner? Let’s make it happen.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.