The winner of the Champions League Real Madrid and the winner of the CONCACAF Champions Cup trophy - Pachuca will face each other in the final of the Club World Cup, Topsport reported.
The match is tonight at 19:00 Bulgarian time at the "Lusail" stadium in the Qatari capital Doha. If Real Madrid wins, it will be trophy No. 110 in the club's history.
On the way to the final, the Pachuca team defeated the South American champion Botafogo 3:0 and the African champion - Al Ahly, after penalties. Real Madrid, on the other hand, arrived in Qatar directly for today's battle, which means that they can win the cup with one match.
The good news from the Real camp is the recovery of Kylian Mbappe, who will most likely be a starter. He will be a partner in attack for Vinicius, who last night received the FIFA award for the No. 1 Footballer in the world for last season.
The Pachuca team is led by Venezuelan veteran Salomon Rondon, who is enjoying a second youth at the Mexican club. The 35-year-old striker has played for teams such as Newcastle and Everton in England, CSKA Moscow and Zenit in Russia, and River Plate in Argentina. The Spaniard Borja Baston, who is a youth player for Atletico Madrid and has toured a bunch of teams in his homeland and England, will probably remain a reserve.
Two more former La Liga players play for Pachuca. Winger Oussama Idrisi, who is a Moroccan international, did not stay long in Spain - he recorded only 17 matches for Sevilla and 13 for Cadiz during the 2020/21 and 2021/22 campaigns. Part of the Mexican team is also 39-year-old Argentine Gustavo Cabral, who spent almost a decade in the Spanish elite as a player for Celta (2012/13-2018/19). After his transfer to Pachuca, he helped the team win the CONCACAF Champions League in 2024.
The Mexicans are led by Uruguayan coach Guillermo Almada, who is unknown in Europe.