Real Madrid won the Intercontinental Cup by beating Mexico’s Pachuca 3-0 in the final on Wednesday. The attacking trio of Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr were on target for the Los Blancos in Qatar.
French national captain Mbappe was declared doubtful for the summit clash after missing Real Madrid’s La Liga game against Vallacano a few days ago due to a thigh injury. Carlo Ancelotti had said that he would not risk Mbappe at the Lusail Stadium unless he was fully match-fit.
The Champions League winners opened the scoring in the 37th minute with a fine team goal that started with Jude Bellingham passing to Vinicius Jr, who ran past the goalkeeper before putting it on a plate for Mbappe, who tapped it into the empty net. Rodrygo extended their lead with a lovely effort in the 52nd minute when he beat two defenders before cutting back inside and curling a fine strike into the top corner with his right foot.
Vinicius Jr wrapped up an easy win for Real from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute after Oussama Idrissi fouled captain Lucas Vazquez inside the box.
Having won three trophies in the original Intercontinental Cup, the predecessor to the current format that pitched the European and South American champions against each other, and five Club World Cups, Real have won a combined total of nine global titles. Wednesday night’s win against Pachuca was the Spanish giants’ final victory this year after having claimed the Champions League and the La Liga.