NOS Football•today, 7:55 PM
Real Madrid has won the Intercontinental Cup. In Qatar, coach Carlo Ancelotti’s team defeated Mexican CF Pachuca 3-0, thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappé, Rodrygo and Vinicius Júnior.
For Ancelotti it is the fifteenth trophy as coach of Real Madrid. The 65-year-old Italian is now the club’s record holder. Until today, he shared the record with Miguel Muñoz, who coached the ‘Royal’ between 1960 and 1974. Real Madrid won the tournament for the fourth time, also a record.
The Intercontinental Cup is comparable to the previous editions of the World Cup for club teams, which will be significantly expanded from next season. The winners of the Champions Leagues of the six continental football associations qualify for the Intercontinental Cup.
As winners of the European Champions League, Real Madrid immediately qualified for the final. Pachuca, which triumphed in the North American version, first had to win a quarter-final against the Brazilian Botafogo and a semi-final against the Egyptian Al Ahly.
At Pachuca, former Premier League player Oussama Idrissi (ex-FC Groningen, AZ, Ajax and Feyenoord) played almost the entire match.
See you again
Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavinga and Mbappé started at the Lusail Stadium in Real Madrid’s base. For the three Frenchmen it was a reunion with the stadium in which they lost the World Cup final to Argentina on penalties exactly two years ago.
It was a special return, especially for Mbappé. The 25-year-old striker was the second player to ever score a hat-trick in a World Cup final in this stadium, after Englishman Geoff Hurst in 1966.
The French star was also valuable at the Lusail Stadium in the service of Real Madrid. Mbappé scored the opening goal in the 37th minute. After good work by Vinicius, he was able to score the 1-0 from close range while falling.
Mbappé provided the assist to make it 2-0 in the second half. He prepared the ball with a wide pass for Rodrygo, who played two defenders and shot the ball into the top corner after a cut from the edge of the penalty area. Just before the end, Vinicius took a penalty.
