Pachuca Reach Intercontinental Cup Final to Face Real Madrid | OneFootball

Pachuca won the CONCACAF Champions Cup this past summer and earned a way into the inaugural FIFA Intercontinental Cup.

Their win in the final against the Columbus Crew means that they also enter next summer's newly rebranded FIFA Club World Cup, joining Monterrey, Club León and the Seattle Sounders.

Entering the Intercontinental Cup at the quarterfinal stage, Pachuca faced the newly crowned champions of South America: Botafogo. The Brazilians had recently secured their first-ever Copa Libertadores title and, just a week later, became champions of Brazil. Back-to-back triumphs in such a short span may have left Botafogo unable to perform at their peak, while Pachuca benefitted from a break following their final game of the Apertura on Saturday 9th November, a narrow 1-0 loss to FC Juárez.

Los Tuzos capitalised on their fresher legs, running out 3-0 winners against the South American kings, with goals from Oussama Idrissi, Nelson Deossa, and Salomón Rondón.

Al Ahly secured their place in the semifinal with an emphatic 3-0 victory over UAE side Al-Ain. The Egyptian giants, who have won the CAF Champions League a record-breaking 12 times, added to their illustrious collection this year with a narrow 1-0 triumph over Espérance Sportive de Tunis.

Pachuca vs Al Ahly

The champions of Central/North America vs the champions of Africa. Despite the anticipation, the game ended goalless with the winner to be decided via a penalty shootout.

In the shootout, Pachuca’s veteran Salomón Rondón stepped up first but had his penalty saved by Mohamed El Shenawi. Al Ahly seized the early advantage as Mohamed Afsha calmly converted their opening spot-kick, while Borja Bastón compounded Pachuca’s woes by blasting his effort over the bar. Adding to the pressure, Rami Rabia slotted home to give the Egyptians a commanding 2-0 lead.

Gustavo Cabral and Oussama Idrissi converted the next set of penalties for Pachuca, but the Mexican side still needed an Egyptian miss to keep their hopes alive.

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Their lifeline came when Mahmoud Kahraba failed to convert his spot-kick, followed by Omar Kamal dragging his effort wide. Suddenly, Los Tuzos found themselves back in contention. Nelson Deossa calmly scored his penalty to level the shootout, and Elias Montiel followed suit to keep the momentum firmly with Pachuca.

The shootout headed into sudden death, with tension mounting on both sides. For Pachuca, Luis Rodríguez and Faber Gil confidently found the back of the net, while Amro Elsoulia and Percy Tau kept Al Ahly in contention.

The pivotal moment came with the 16th kick of the shootout, as Khaled Abdeldatteh stepped up for Al Ahly. The 25-year-old struck his effort with power, but it crashed against the crossbar, sealing Pachuca’s dramatic victory and their place in the final.

Pachuca vs Real Madrid

Los Tuzos are through to the showpiece event where they will face the reigning UEFA Champions League holders.

The game will take place at 9:00 am CST on Wednesday 18th December at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

Los Blancos head to Qatar following a thrilling 3-3 draw against Real Vallecano. Real Madrid’s season has been plagued by inconsistency, highlighted by a humbling 4-0 El Clásico defeat to Barcelona and Champions League setbacks against Liverpool and AC Milan.

For Pachuca, this final represents a monumental challenge, but they will aim to capitalise on Real Madrid’s shaky form. Victory would see them become the first Mexican side to claim the most prestigious prize in club football and the first non-European team to do so since Brazil’s Corinthians defeated Chelsea in 2012.