The first world title in the history of Paris Saint-Germain and a French club was won, won only on penalties – and, for this reason too, the victory was greatly celebrated by the team. The good performance of Flamengo, an opponent who imposed great difficulties on the European champion, also served to further enhance the trophy won this Wednesday in Qatar, after a 1-1 draw in normal time and extra time, followed by a 2-1 victory on penalties, in the final of the Intercontinental Cup.
Tiago Lemé, from Doha (Qatar), to RFI
After the match, PSG players and coach Luis Enrique congratulated Rubro-Negro from Rio, who dreamed of a second world championship and had a chance to win this exciting duel. Brazilian defender Marquinhos, captain of Paris, spoke of the qualities of the four-time champion Libertadores team – who he said are making “a revolution in football in Brazil”.
“This Flamengo team was very respected. We knew it would be a totally different match,” he said. “The opponent has a different playing philosophy, and I knew it would be like that. Flamengo really brought a revolution in Brazilian football, in terms of playing philosophy, tactics, understanding the opponent, exploiting the opponent in the best way”, explained the player, before comparing it with the match against Botafogo, when PSG lost in the first phase of the Club World Cup, in the United States.
“It would be a final decided in the details. We even wanted it to be easier for us, but that wasn’t the case. So I think there was a lot of respect,” he admitted.
The defender stressed that, as the Paris team has many Brazilians and Portuguese, the coach and the players themselves keep an eye on Brazilian football. “Everyone knows how qualified this Flamengo team is. They are experienced players, who come back from Europe and who are used to playing against European teams, against PSG, against other big teams. So, it was certainly a difficult match,” analyzed Marquinhos.
“Very difficult opponent”
Portuguese left-back Nuno Mendes also highlighted the good performance of the Brazilian team, who did not let themselves be intimidated on the pitch in the face of PSG favoritism and the different financial realities between the clubs on the two continents.
“Congratulations to Flamengo. They were a very difficult opponent. They came here to play, to participate in the match. It was a very good match, I think for both sides,” he said. “Unfortunately they couldn’t win, we won as we wanted. It was a good game from Flamengo, I’m very happy to have won. And I’m also happy for them, because they came here and showed that they are a great team,” Nuno said.
On the Flamengo side, coach Filipe Luís and the athletes did not hide their frustration at the defeat, but showed their pride in their performance against PSG and their achievements in 2025. There was criticism of the change made by FIFA to the regulations of the World Cup, which was renamed by the entity Intercontinental Cup. Since last year, the South American team must first play the quarter-finals and semi-finals, while the European representative advances directly to the final.
Decisive shock at the end of the season
Striker Bruno Henrique spoke of the physical exhaustion of Flamengo supporters, after a season with a tight schedule, and made a comparison with the current situation of PSG.
“Today we have reached 76 games, and of course it changes our physical form a little, because facing a European team is already difficult, and at the end of the season it is even more difficult. The European team, during the last World Cup – in the middle of the year, in the United States – complained that it was at the end of the season, and Flamengo is now at the end of the season,” he explained. “But it’s enough to play, to come up with a game. We did well today. So we just have to salute the season we had, a season with a lot of dedication, a lot of dedication, and today we also had a lot of dedication in the game. Congratulations to us for this season,” he said.
The hero of Paris Saint-Germain’s victory was Russian goalkeeper Safonov, who saved four penalties. He was kept in the starting lineup for a third consecutive game, even after Chevalier’s return from injury. In the decisive charge, Safonov caught Luiz Araújo’s shot, as did Saúl, Pedro and Léo Pereira before. Vitinha and Nuno Mendes converted for the new world champion.
In normal time, Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring and Jorginho equalized from the penalty spot. The Portuguese Vitinha, who once again performed well, was chosen as best player during the final in Qatar.
The Intercontinental Cup is Paris’ sixth title in this historic season, having won the European Champions League, the French Championship, the French Cup, the European Super Cup and the French Super Cup. The team was also runners-up in the new Club World Cup in the United States.
PSG returns to the field on Saturday for the Coupe de France, against Vendée Fontenay, the country’s fifth division team. This will be the team’s last game in 2025, before the end-of-year vacation.
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