The teams who will contest the 2024 Intercontinental Cup final are now known - Real Madrid and Pachuca will battle it out to become the first team to win the new trophy - an off-spin of the Club World Cup which returns next summer with a new format.

The Tuzos of Pachuca will be in charge of facing the 15-time European champions next Wednesday at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, this after beating Al Ahly on penalties in this evening’s semi-final.

Pachuca’s road to the final has not been easy. The Mexicans eliminated the Copa Libertadores champions Botafogo and Al Ahly - two tough opponents which speaks volumes of the great work that the current Concacaf champions have carried out.

A team that had the opportunity to live the dream that Pachuca faces today is Columbus Crew, a rival that the Tuzos defeated resoundingly in the Concacaf Champions Cup final to qualify for this competition.

Columbus Crew and the frustrated dream of the Intercontinental Cup

It was clear that the path for Wilfried Nancy’s team did not seem to be that complicated. Being the best team in the MLS throughout 2023 and in the first half of 2024, it is a fact that the Crew was able to compete against the rivals that Pachuca left out.

The achievement is a testament to the work that Guillermo Almada has done during the three years he has been in charge at Pachuca. His team suffered the disappointment of being eliminated in the early stages of Liga MX and that bet everything on the Intercontinental Cup.

It was a similar story for their CONCACAF Champions Cup opponents the Columbus Crew, who were left out of the running in MLS.

Football made the difference in Pachuca’s favor

Considering that Columbus Crew has a higher roster value than Pachuca ($61 million compared to $58.4 million), and the quality to match.

Players such as Cucho Hernández, Diego Rossi and Alexandru Mãtan together exceed 25 million dollars, while the Tuzos have Idrissi, Deossa and Bryan González, players worth 15 million dollars combined and who have made the difference in both of the games against Botafogo and Al Ahly.

In the end, it was the merit on the field that made the difference for Pachuca to qualify for the final, in which the club will face Real Madrid for the first time in history.

While Columbus and MLS know that there is still work to be done to reach the level with which Liga MX has clearly marked its hegemony in Concacaf.