Real Madrid stroll to Intercontinental Cup title with 3-0 win over Pachuca

Real Madrid dominates Pachuca in Intercontinental Cup final, with Mbappe, Rodrygo, and Vinicius Jr scoring in 3-0 victory.

Real Madrid won the Intercontinental Cup after beating Mexico's Pachuca 3-0 in a largely one-sided final on Wednesday (December 18, 2024), with Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr all on target.

Real did just enough to win comfortably and never looked likely to cede control despite allowing the CONCACAF champions to threaten occasionally from counter-attacks at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

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 now won a combined total of nine global titles.

"We are very happy for another title," Rodrygo told Spanish television channel Telecinco.