The first edition of the Intercontinental Cup goes to Real Madrid. The Spaniards beat Mexican club Pachuca in the final. The Whites now have another trophy in their cabinet. Meanwhile, coach Carlo Ancelotti and Luka Modrić write club history.
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- Real Madrid secure the Intercontinental Cup title. The Spaniards beat Mexican club Pachuca 3:0 in the final in Lusail in northern Qatar.
- The attacking trio of Kylian Mbappé, Rodrygo and Vinícius Jr. scored the goals. The three attacking stars particularly shine in finals.
- Coach Carlo Ancelotti and midfielder Luka Modrić make club history with this triumph.
Champions League winners Real Madrid won another title at the end of the year and won the FIFA Intercontinental Cup for the first time.
The Whites defeated their Mexican opponents CF Pachuca 3:0 in Lusail, Qatar, to win a fourth title in 2024 after the championship, the premier league title and the UEFA Super Cup trophy.
Kylian Mbappé (37th minute), Rodrygo (53rd) and Vinícius Jr. (84th/foul penalty) scored the goals for the Whites, who showed great efficiency in front of goal at the 2022 World Cup final stadium.
It was almost predictable that the attacking trio would shine in the final. Mbappé has scored eight goals in the last seven finals for the club (PSG and Real) and the French national team - four of them at the Lusail Stadium.
Rodrygo has scored four goals in the last five finals in all competitions for Real Madrid. And compatriot Vinícius Júnior - who was named FIFA World Player of the Week during the week - has been involved in 13 goals in his 12 finals with Real (eight goals and five assists).
Ancelotti and Modrić with an impressive haul
"We are very, very dangerous in attack," Ancelotti summed it up succinctly. "We've put our month-long dry spell behind us. We're still not in our best shape, but little by little you can see an improvement," he said. The Italian's statements can almost be seen as a warning to his opponents.
The 65-year-old has now won 15 titles with Real and can now call himself the most successful coach in the club's 122-year history. The newly crowned FIFA World Coach remains modest: "If I'm honest, it's a little easier to win titles with Real Madrid than anywhere else. We have a fantastic club, great fans, the best players in the world. That's why it's easier to win titles here than anywhere else in the world - apart from the fact that it's not easy to win titles."
Indeed, the Real players seem born for big games. The Whites have only lost one of their last 20 international finals, a 4-2 defeat to Atlético Madrid in the 2018 UEFA Super Cup.
Luka Modrić has won even more trophies for the Whites than Ancelotti - the 39-year-old Croatian has lifted a trophy for the club 28 times. Not bad for the strong midfielder, who only left Tottenham for the Spanish capital at the age of 27 - and 0 trophies.
