Gonzalo Garcia's golden header sends Real Madrid to Club World Cup quarters

In front of a buzzing 62,000 plus crowd at Hard Rock Stadium, it was a night of tight margins, tactical duels, and one perfectly-timed leap that made all the difference.

Real will now face the winner of the Borussia Dortmund vs. Monterrey clash, but tonight, it was all about Gonzalo's third goal in four games, a moment that sealed Real's dominance after a tense first half.

Juventus, smarting from a 5-2 drubbing by Manchester City in their last outing, started with purpose. Randal Kolo Muani nearly gave them a dream start after some silky footwork from Kenan Yildiz, but his cheeky chip attempt drifted harmlessly over Thibaut Courtois' crossbar.

Yildiz then tried his luck with a thunderbolt that took a wicked deflection off Aurelien Tchouameni - close, but still no cigar for the Turin side.

But Xabi Alonso's Madrid, calm and methodical, began to click into gear. Jude Bellingham forced a close-range save from Michele Di Gregorio, while Federico Valverde and Trent Alexander-Arnold began turning up the pressure with long-range missiles and dangerous crosses.

Madrid came out firing after the break. Bellingham, buzzing around the box, teed up Valverde, whose effort whistled past the post. Di Gregorio, who had a standout night for Juve, was soon called into action again as Bellingham let fly from distance.

But the breakthrough felt inevitable. In the 54th minute, Alexander-Arnold curled in a teasing cross from the right, and Garcia, like a hawk, rose to nod it past a helpless Di Gregorio. One-nil, Madrid - and thoroughly deserved.

As Real pressed for a second, Alonso played his ace. Kylian Mbappe, fresh off recovering from illness, entered the fray in the 68th minute - greeted by a deafening roar from the Miami faithful. The French star didn't score, but his presence alone lifted Madrid's tempo.

Juventus didn't lie down, though. Francisco Conceicao forced a low save from Courtois, and Nicolas Gonzalez fizzed a 25-yarder just wide - a warning that the game wasn't done yet.

Still, Madrid had the last word. Arda Guler's late strike was denied by Di Gregorio's quick feet, and although a second goal never came, it didn't matter. The job was done.