U.S. Abroad: Alvarado gets CWC start against Real Madrid

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Dec 15, 2016

Ventura Alvarado started in Club America's 2-0 loss to Real Madrid in the semifinals of the Club World Cup in Japan.

After almost four seasons playing for America, the reigning Concacaf champion, the Phoenix-born Alvarado will join Santos for Liga MX's Torneo Clausura, which begins in January.

Alvarado, who played 52 minutes against Real Madrid, still has the third-place game against Atletico Nacional and next week's Torneo Apertura second-leg final against Tigres to play for America before joining Santos.

Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo scored for Real Madrid, which will meet Kashima Antlers of Japan in Sunday's final in Yokohama.