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Mbappé Set to Play for Real Madrid in Intercontinental Cup Final Against Mexico’s Pachuca

Real Madrid's French forward Kylian Mbappe attends a training session ahead of the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup final football match between Spain's Real Madrid and Mexico's Pachuca at the Lusail Stadium in Doha, on December 17, 2024. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)
Real Madrid's French forward Kylian Mbappe attends a training session ahead of the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup final football match between Spain's Real Madrid and Mexico's Pachuca at the Lusail Stadium in Doha, on December 17, 2024. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)
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Mbappé Set to Play for Real Madrid in Intercontinental Cup Final Against Mexico’s Pachuca

Real Madrid's French forward Kylian Mbappe attends a training session ahead of the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup final football match between Spain's Real Madrid and Mexico's Pachuca at the Lusail Stadium in Doha, on December 17, 2024. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)
Real Madrid's French forward Kylian Mbappe attends a training session ahead of the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup final football match between Spain's Real Madrid and Mexico's Pachuca at the Lusail Stadium in Doha, on December 17, 2024. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)

Real Madrid meets Mexican club Pachuca in the final of the watered-down Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday, with Kylian Mbappé expected to be available to play for the Spanish powerhouse after nursing a left-thigh injury, The Associated Press reported.
The tournament — being played in a new format after FIFA expanded the Club World Cup for 2025 — brings together the champions of all six soccer confederations. It takes place every year while the bigger Club World Cup will happen every four years.
Madrid made it straight to the final without having to play any matches as the European champion, while Pachuca advanced by defeating South American champion Botafogo and Al Ahly of Egypt in the preliminary rounds of the tournament taking place in Qatar.
Mbappé has been practicing with the rest of Madrid's squad again after missing a Spanish league match against Rayo Vallecano — a 3-3 draw on Saturday.
The France star, still to meet full expectations in his first season with Madrid, got hurt and was substituted after scoring in Madrid’s 3-2 win at Atalanta in the Champions League last week.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who can become the club's most-decorated coach ever with 15 titles with a victory in Wednesday's final, was optimistic about the chances of Mbappé being available, though he was still missing some other key players in a season marred by injuries, including Dani Carvajal, Eder Militão, David Alaba and Ferland Mendy.
“Kylian trained yesterday and felt good," Ancelotti said. “He will see how he feels. If he feels good, he will play, but if there is any sort of risk he won't. But it all looked good yesterday and we are optimistic."
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will likely play after recently returning from a muscle injury that sidelined him for a few games.
Ancelotti completed his squad for the final against Pachuca with a few players from the club's youth squads.
Madrid won the Intercontinental Cup three times (1960, 1998 and 2002) before FIFA began organizing the Club World Cup every year. It has won the Club World Cup five times (2014, 2016, 2017-18 and 2022).
Madrid is currently third in the Spanish league standings.
Pachuca finished third at the Club World Cup in 2017.

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Vinícius Júnior and Aitana Bonmati Win FIFA Best Player of the Year Awards

Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior poses for pictures with his Best Player trophy during the Best FIFA Football Awards 2024 ceremony in Doha on December 17, 2024. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior poses for pictures with his Best Player trophy during the Best FIFA Football Awards 2024 ceremony in Doha on December 17, 2024. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
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Vinícius Júnior and Aitana Bonmati Win FIFA Best Player of the Year Awards

Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior poses for pictures with his Best Player trophy during the Best FIFA Football Awards 2024 ceremony in Doha on December 17, 2024. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior poses for pictures with his Best Player trophy during the Best FIFA Football Awards 2024 ceremony in Doha on December 17, 2024. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)

Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior finally got his hands on a big global player award on Tuesday.
Vinícius was named the men’s player of the year at the FIFA’s “The Best” awards, where Barcelona playmaker Aitana Bonmati continued to clean up in the prizes for women’s soccer.
The 24-year-old Vinícius was so disappointed to lose out to Manchester City midfielder Rodri for the Ballon d’Or in October that he and his Madrid team snubbed the ceremony in Paris in protest.
This time Rodri ended up second to Vinícius by five points. The Brazil forward was at the FIFA ceremony to collect his award having travelled to Doha on Monday with Madrid for the Intercontinental Cup final against Pachuca.
“I don’t even know where to begin," Vinícius said in Portuguese. "It was so far away that it seemed impossible to get here. I was a kid who only played football barefoot on the streets of São Gonçalo, close to poverty and crime.
"Getting here is something very important to me. I’m doing it for many children who think that everything is impossible and who think they can’t get here.”
Vinícius echoed those sentiments in an Instagram post, where he took a thinly-disguised dig at presumably the Ballon d’Or voters — journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings.
“Today I am writing to that boy who saw so many idols lift this trophy... your time has come,” he wrote. "Or rather, my time has come. The time to say ... yes, I am the best player in the world and I fought hard for it.
“They tried and still try to invalidate me, to diminish me. But they are not prepared. No one is going to tell me who I should fight for, how I should behave.”
Vinícius has been subjected to racist abuse in Spain and at one point earlier this year said he was “losing my desire to play” but added “I’ll keep fighting,” The Associated Press reported.
Bonmati won the award for best women’s player of the year making it back-to-back prizes at FIFA's version of the older and more prestigious Ballon d’Or prize.
The 26-year-old Spain midfielder has won the Ballon d’Or for two straight years, and won the Spanish league, Spanish cup and Champions League with Barcelona in 2024.
“I am grateful to receive this award. As I always say, this is a team effort," Bonmati said. "It was a great year, very difficult to repeat. I am grateful to the people who help me to be better every day, from the club, to my teammates, who always help me to be better.”
FIFA said the award winners were decided by an “equally weighted voting system" by fans, the current captains and coaches of all national teams, and media representatives.
There was an 11-player shortlist for both awards, with the contenders selected based on their performances from Aug. 21, 2023, to Aug. 10. 2024.
Vinícius had the best season of his career, scoring 24 goals in 39 appearances for Madrid and helping the Spanish team to a record-extending 15th European Cup — and his second Champions League trophy.
He also netted in the final, becoming the youngest player to score in two Champions League finals.
Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham was third, ahead of Dani Carvajal and Lamine Yamal, with Lionel Messi — who had won the award the previous two years — sixth.
Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was named best men’s coach, and United States coach Emma Hayes took the women’s prize.
Hayes steered the USWNT to Olympic gold in Paris in August. Their shotstopper, Alyssa Naeher, was given the women’s goalkeeper award. Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez won the men’s prize for the second straight year.
Alejandro Garnacho won the FIFA Puskás Award for the best goal, for his sensational overhead strike for Manchester United against Everton in November 2023.
Marta won the award that is named after her — the inaugural FIFA Marta Award — for her goal for Brazil against Jamaica in June.