It is said that penalty shootouts are a lottery. If you take this allegory literally, you’ll hardly ever get a hit. Well, in the final of the World Cup, which this time was played by Flamengo from Rio de Janeiro and Paris Saint-Germain in Doha, the Brazilians managed to miss four penalties – out of five. The Parisians missed two of four penalties. In other words: out of nine, only three went in.
One would like to highlight the merits of the goalkeepers, and they have already achieved a bit, especially the Russian goalkeeper in Paris, Matvei Safonov. In the end, what will probably remain from this football game is the realization that the shooters had allowed themselves to be bewitched by the fateful allegory of the lottery. Even world footballer Ousmane Dembélé forgave quite miserably. After 120 minutes of play, the score was 1-1, tied and level, as no one had expected. The Brazilians were surprisingly close to triumph. The many fans from Rio would have been lucky; they had a sixteen-hour flight and were still louder than the Parisians.
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PSG now wins its sixth title this year. In the history of football, only two European teams had previously achieved this: Pep Guardiola’s Barça, in 2009, and Hansi Flick’s Bayern, in 2020. In fact, no French club has ever won the “Coupe Intercontinentale”, as the French call this somewhat out-of-fashion competition. Somehow the “Intercontinental Cup” is the successor to the time-honored World Cup and the continued, annual, smaller version of the Club World Cup, which has become a giant tournament, as was played in a similar way from 2005 to 2023. Olympique de Marseille, the other club in the country that won the Champions League (1993), was not allowed to play for the world crown at the time. Because of the scandal surrounding a purchased championship game, OM was excluded. A long time ago and long since suppressed.
As soon as the game in Qatar was over, the French sports newspaper’s website said The Team this beautiful title: “Paris in the sixth heaven”. For the Parisians, this was the 66th game in 2025, you have to imagine that. They also made it to the final of the FIFA Club World Cup in the USA in the summer, but were defeated by Chelsea FC. Otherwise, well, it would have even reached seventh heaven. So much for the Paris record hunt and the chronicle of a night that perhaps only captivated the fans of the two clubs.
The World Cup was once a serious matter, the game of games in a season
One may ask how sensible it is to keep this cup alive, now that the world association Fifa organizes this megalomaniac Club World Cup designed by Gianni Infantino every four years with 32 teams from almost everywhere. At least in those years when this tournament takes place, the Intercontinental Cup seems like one cherry too many on the cake. Even found that The Parisianwhich otherwise doesn’t want to deny the city’s club a stage, and certainly not a trophy. “One could question the relevance of the competition,” the newspaper wrote.
The World Cup, introduced in 1960, was once a serious matter, the game of games in a season. Europe and South America, the poles of world football, decided on the best among themselves: the winner of the Champions League (formerly the European Cup for national champions) against the winner of the Copa Libertadores. The formula was changed again and again over time; for a while the meeting took place in Japan because the sponsor also came from there.
But before that, when the trophy was decided on a two-legged basis, there were often epic duels in which the South Americans in particular were keen to sweep the snooty, richer Europeans off their feet. Some European teams didn’t travel to South America at all for fear of losing their calves and ligaments. There was a lot in these games, more than just football. Now everything is different. It wouldn’t have been necessary for them to play the cup after the Club World Cup. It probably doesn’t need him anymore. Perhaps that is also a lesson from the memorable penalty shootout in Doha. Three out of nine!
