Ancelotti: "James will likely be ready for the Final"

Real Madrid will make their FIFA Club World Cup debut against Cruz Azul this Tuesday (20:30 CET) in Marrakech, even though Los Blancos were going to play in Rabat.

It doesn't change much, the grass is good here and I believe it will be the same in Marrakech as well. It's better to change (venue) because it's a semi final of the club world club so it needs to be played on a good pitch. We didnt ask to change the pitch...they just told us their decision.

Much has been said about the midfield and the attackers, but the defenders deserve some praise as well, according to Ancelotti.

All four of them can play in any team in the world. The team works hard and that's why they also don't have a lot of work, but to me they are the four best center backs in the world.

There was some controversy around Ramos' potential extension with Real Madrid, and Ancelotti was clear.

I know the club want to give him an extension, and I also believe that Ramos wants to stay, so we don't have a problem here.

Ancelotti spoke about how James and Khedira were feeling.

The team is fine, we've solved the problems we had having to replace injured players, we're in a very good level. James and Khedira will likely be available for the Final.

Real Madrid will need to be careful against Cruz Azul, says Real's coach.

Cruz Azul have quality, they have players with experience...I think it will be an intense game, they play good football according to their strengths and their style of play. We probably have better quality, true, but we still have to take it seriously, they deserve to play this tournament, we like to play this tournament.

Atlético de Madrid and Barcelona dropped points in La Liga, but Ancelotti thinks this is not very important right now.

We're not thinking about how other teams are doing in La Liga, we're focused in what we're doing and right now that is the FIFA Club World Cup because we've been thinking about this competition since we won La Décima.

Pepe talked to the press right before Ancelotti, here's what he had to say.

This is the first Club World Cup for many of us. We have the utmost respect towards the other teams and we will try our best to win the tournament. Cruz Azul have quality and some players have already played in the Spanish league, we need to prepare for this match properly in order to have a good chance to win it. The winner of this competition is the best team in the world...so we are very excited. This has been a spectacular year for us and we want to keep it going.