Kylian Mbappé scored at the Lusail Stadium and had a happier ending as Real Madrid beat Pachuca 2-0 in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup final.
Two years after Mbappé’s hat-trick for France in the 2022 World Cup final – after all, Argentina and Lionel Messi won glory on penalties – the superstar striker returned to Qatar to score the opening goal in the 37th minute of the game. reinvented competition. .
The old Intercontinental Cup pitted European champions against South American champions, but Pachuca ended that setback by getting rid of Copa Libertadores champion Botafogo last week. The Liga MX team, which has struggled at home in recent times, then beat Al Ahly in the aftermath to prepare for a showdown with Madrid.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men progressed straight to the final as UEFA Champions League winners and the first half an hour was competitive enough until Madrid’s superior class began to tell.
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Venue: Lusail Stadium, Lusail Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)
Lineups:
Real Madrid (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Thibaut Courtois (GK) — 17. Lucas Vazquez (35. Raul Asencio), 14. Aurelien Tchouameni, 22. Antonio Rudiger, 20. Fran Garcia — 8. Federico Valverde, 5. Jude Bellingham (15 Arda Guler), 6. Eduardo Camavinga (19. Dani Ceballos) — 11. Rodrygo (10. Luka Modric), 9. Kylian Mbappe (21. Brahim Diaz), 7. Vinicius Junior.
Pachuca (4-4-2, from right to left): 25. Carlos Moreno (GK) – 24. Luis Rodríguez (32. Carlos Sánchez), 2. Sergio Barreto, 33. Andrés Micolta, 8. Bryan González – 5. Pedro Pedraza, 6 years old. Nelson Deossa (Sergio Hernández), 26 years old. Alan Bautista (10. Ángel Mena), 28 years old. Elías Montiel — years. Oussama Idrissi (18. Alexei Domínguez), 23. Salomón Rondón
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Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior combined cleverly to give Mbappé an undeniable goal before Rodrygo scored a very fine solo effort from the edge of the area at the start of the second half.
The VAR review ruled that Bellingham was in an offside position but did not interfere with Rodrygo’s play and Madrid were awarded a late penalty in the same way when several replays led to the conclusion that substitute Dani Ceballos had tripped on dominion through Osama. Idrissi.
Vinicius celebrated last night being named FIFA Player of the Year 2024, but scored an unconvincing penalty thanks to Carlos Moreno. Madrid’s fifth trophy of the calendar year already seemed like an inevitable end.
That’s that, Madrid will lift their fifth trophy of 2024 and the destination of this one was in little to no doubt after Mbappe opened the scoring eight minutes before halftime. Rodrygo extended the lead with a magnificent second before freshly crowned FIFA Best winner Vinicius added gloss from the penalty spot. Thanks for joining us.
90 minutes + 1: Little idea that I had Pachuca on the scoresheet but the flag is raised.
90 minutes: Vinicius goes to score but fails to score against Moreno. There will be 3 more minutes left.
84 mins: GOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!! Vinicius (pen)!!!!
In truth, it is not a wonderful penalty from Vinicius and Moreno hits it, but there is enough in the shot to make it squirm under the Pachuca goalkeeper.
83′: PENALTY TO REAL MADRID! Idrissi is sanctioned. This is hard. Possibly there would have been a slight touch, but Ceballos knew what he was doing and it is one of those that looks more like a penalty the more you look at it.
81 minutes: Ceballos falls from the penalty spot. The crowd boos but the referee is no less convinced. In the replay it seems like a dive, but Valenzuela heads towards the monitor.
80 mins: This is a little gem of a cameo from the magisterial Modric, who forces Sanchez into a last-ditch tackle.
75 mins: Double change for Pachuca, with Sanchez and Mena into the action in place of the industrious Rodriguez and Bautista.
74 mins: Modric orchestrates a fine Madrid attack, Bellingham finds another cute through-ball and Moreno has to deny Vinicius with his leg.
73 minutes: Modric takes a free kick into the area but Moreno claims.
70 min: Rondon rises to meet a Montiel cross and heads into the roof of the net!
69 minutes: Bellingham and Valverde attack Vinicius, who deflects his shot with his right foot. Rodrygo replaces Luka Modric, 39. He will win the 28th trophy of his career in Madrid unless something crazy happens in the final minutes.
67 minutes: Free kick for Pachuca, direct and north of 35 meters from the goal. Rondón launches a great low shot that Courtois deflects into the right back corner.
64 mins: Some more sloppy playing out from Madrid. It goes unpunished but they’ve probably eased off too much since Rodrygo doubled the lead.
61 minutes: Double for Madrid while Ceballos and Díaz update Camavinga and Mbappé.
60 mins: Courtois does well to get down to Gonzalez’s cross with the veteran striker Rondon poised to take advantage.
59 minutes: Terrible gift for the Madrid midfielder, who retreats and the Pachuca attack advances towards Rodríguez on the right without further ado.
56 minutes: GOAL SAVED! Referee Valenzuela explains during the stadium’s public address system: an intelligent innovation as long as it is used, in my opinion, that Bellingham did not interfere.
55 mins: VAR REVIEW! Hang on, they’re having a look at Rodrygo’s goal. Bellingham was in an offside position, squatting down in front of the goalkeeper. The question now is whether or not the Englishman is deeper to be interfering with play.
53 minutes: GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!! Rodrygo!!!
A glorious goal from the Brazilian winger, who collects the ball on the D, turns and moves away from some demanding situations and then fires a very good shot past Moreno from the edge of the area.
51 mins: Sharp effort from Deossa that deflects off Garcia and goes behind for a corner. Again, the delivery isn’t great.
Off we go again. Can Pachuca flip the script and deny Real Madrid their latest trophy? They’ve 45 minutes to turn the tide.
Pachuca kept Madrid at bay and competed well for most of the opening 45 minutes. But Madrid threatened to run away with things in the minutes immediately after Mbappe’s opening goal and they will fancy doing so when the action resumes.
45 minutes: There will be an additional minute and Pachuca turns out to have weathered the typhoon that followed Mbappé’s goal well.
39 mins: Now Valverde gets into the box on the right-hand side and clatters over the near post. Halftime suddenly feels a long time away for Pachuca.
38 minutes; The purpose: Real Madrid’s first shot on goal and Mbappé imagines another when he takes a low shot from outside the area.
37 minutes: GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLL!!!!! Kylian Mbappé!!!!
Madrid’s stars combine to break the deadlock. Bellingham cutely plays through Vinicius, who deftly dummies his way around Moreno and cuts back across goal for Mbappe to convert.
Minute 34: Moreno comes out to make a good save from a close foul by Rodrygo. Then the offside flag is raised.
29 min: Pachuca goes up the other goal and González wins a corner that is taken by surprise. Bautista has a ridiculous shot from about 35 meters, kilometers from the target.
28 mins: Madrid continue to knock at the door but Mbappe can’t quite get the ball out of his feet and is crowded out.
22 minutes: Fantastic sliding block from Micolta to deny Rodrygo. The Pachuca defender appears out of nowhere. Madrid cannot make the corner count, but it is beginning to be a delight for their opponents.
16 minutes: Quick VAR review after a montage between Valverde and Deossa in the Madrid area. But none of that, I don’t want to check it on the screen. Here we go.
14 minutes: Rudiger sends a cross to Rodrygo, who needs a loose shot after Bryan González’s challenge. Nothing to do and it’s a goal kick.
12 minutes: He enters the Pachuca area in an instant and Vinicius wins a corner. Played short by Rodrygo, he does not look good but they have another opportunity. Now, Bellingham can’t deliver anything nearby.
11 mins: Pachuca are switching play effectively here, pushing Madrid back and they win another corner. Montiel’s delivery is cleared and here come Vinicius and Mbappe…
7 minutes: Oh, hello! Pachuca’s right back, Rodríguez, is allowed to advance and takes a low shot from more than 25 yards. Courtois struggles to push it to the post and Madrid takes charge of the corner.
5 minutes: Madrid’s attack collapses after Mbappé is penalized for a handball. He thinks the ball hit his mark and I dare say he’s right.
We’re leaving. Real Madrid settle into quiet territory before Courtois launches himself ahead of no one in particular.
4 minutes before kick-off: Here are the groups that level up for the FIFA World Cup 2022 final. That means Kylian Mbappé is back on the scene with an unforgettable hat-trick and probably the biggest crushing sadness of his career. Lusail Stadium packed that night in 2022. Two years later, there are definitely more than a few seats available.
20 mins before kickoff: So, not to get all existential, why are we all here? Well, this competition basically fills the gap in the schedule (woe betide we have one of those) left by the FIFA Club World Cup, which will now take place as a 32-team expanded tournament next year to ensure we have no gaps in the schedule.
Regardless, the FIFA Intercontinental Cup featured knockout matches featuring the champion clubs of the six FIFA-affiliated confederations. Real Madrid earned an automatic position in the ultimate and Pachuca booked his position through surprising Copa Libertadores winners Botafogo 3-0 in the ‘Derthrough of the Americas’ on December 11 before getting rid of Al Ahly on penalties.
The old Intercontinental Cup pitted the UEFA and CONMEBOL champions from 1960 to 2004, with Real Madrid on 3 occasions.
45 mins before kickoff: This is how Pachuca line up . It looks like that might be a narrow 4-4-2 diamond as they seek to starve Madrid of room in central areas.
?️ | Este es el #XITuzo con el que hoy salimos al campo a dejar la vida ante el Real Madrid por la Copa Intercontinental.?¡ADELANTE TUZOS!?#PachucaParaElMundo?? | #RealMadridPachuca pic.twitter.com/UvZkcGiMM2
1 hour before kickoff: Here you have the latest news from Real Madrid. Aurélien Tchouameni receives the green light to start alongside Antonio Rudiger in central defense. All the big guns went out to the other end of the field, with Jude Bellingham betting on the three best stars Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior, recently crowned winner of FIFA Best.
?✅Our eleven! ? @Tuzos? #IntercontinentalFIFA Cup pic. twitter. com/SpmXSKNT0l
1 hr 30 mins before kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Real Madrid vs. Pachuca at Lusail Stadium, Qatar with the FIFA Intercontinental Cup on the line. This is a new competition… and an old competition. We’ll explain everything in due course.
The Intercontinental Cup final kicks off in Lusail, Qatar at 8 p.m. local time.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
Ancelotti has named a strong squad for Lusail, hoping to lift a trophy to ease the tension after a mixed start to the season.
The main news focuses on Kylian Mbappe’s recovery after missing the 3-3 La Liga draw at the weekend against Rayo Vallecano, with fellow Frenchman Eduardo Camavinga also backing up.
However, defensive quartet Ferland Mendy, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao and David Alaba are on the sidelines.
Real Madrid lineup (4-3-3, left to right): Courtois (Goalkeeper) – Vázquez, Tchouameni Rudiger, García – Valverde, Bellingham, Camavinga – Rodrygo, Mbappé, Vinicius Jr.
Injured: Mendy (calf), Carvajal (knee), Militao (knee), Alaba (knee)Suspended: None
Pachuca won the Copa Libertadores, Botafogo, in the quarterfinals and beat Al Ahly by the consequences in the semifinals.
Despite the immediate replacement between games, they may be left with an unreplaced lineup, adding former Premier League striker Salomon Rondon.
Pachuca predicted lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Moreno (GK) — Rodriguez, Cabral, Micolta, B. Gonzalez — Avalos, Pedraza — A. Gonzalez, Gutierrez, Idrissi — Rondon
Injured: Barreto (knee) Sanctioned: None
Here’s how to watch this FIFA Intercontinental Cup fit into primary region slots around the world:
Dom is the Senior Content Creator at Sporting News UK. In the past he worked as a fan logo editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he gained more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news outlets. Dom has covered primary outdoor football events, adding Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St. Petersburg respectively, as well as high-profile foreign matches from the Premier League, Champions League and England. Cricket and boxing are his other wonderful sporting passions and he has covered Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from the ring.