Sam VreeswijkDec 18, 2024, 7:53 PM
Last updated: Dec 18, 2024, 7:55 PM
Real Madrid won the first edition of the Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday. In Lusail, Qatar, coach Carlo Ancelotti’s team was too strong for CF Pachuca 3-0, thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappé, Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior.
Until last year, the Club World Cup was played around this time of year. However, FIFA has decided to significantly expand that tournament and to hold the first edition next summer. That is why there was a gap in the football calendar for a new tournament: the Intercontinental Cup.
Six clubs participated in the tournament, which started in September: Botafogo, Al-Ahly, Al-Ain, Auckland City and therefore Pachuca and Real Madrid. The latter club only entered in the final, while the other clubs started in the eighth finals or quarter-finals.
Former Premier League player Oussama Idrissi was in the starting line-up for Pachuca, which qualified for the tournament by winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup this year. Real Madrid started the match in Lusail with star players such as Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius and Jude Bellingham in the starting line-up. Mbappé had lost the World Cup final on penalties to Argentina in the same stadium exactly two years earlier.
It was Mbappé who gave Real Madrid the lead just before half-time on Wednesday evening. Vinícius rounded goalkeeper Carlos Moreno with a nice scissor and put it back to the Frenchman, who easily tapped the ball in: 1-0.
Just after halftime, Rodrygo doubled the score. The Brazilian found a spot on the edge of the penalty area to take a swing, and curled the ball beautifully into the far corner: 2-0 for Real Madrid.
After a foul by Idrissi on Lucas Vázquez, Real Madrid were awarded a penalty ten minutes before the end. Vinícius did not fail from eleven meters and decided the game definitively: 3-0. This way, Real Madrid can once again add another prize to its already full trophy cabinet.
