PSG in Intercontinental Cup final in December
PARIS: European Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain will play their first ever Intercontinental Cup final in Doha, Qatar, on December 17, FIFA announced on Sunday. Their opponents will only be determined four days earlier in the final playoff, called the Challenger Cup. This will pit Egyptian club Pyramids, the African champions, against the winner of the match between Central American champions Cruz Azul from Mexico and the future winner of the Copa Libertadores. The South American tournament is currently in the semifinal stage and includes two Brazilian sides. Palmeiras are up against LDU Quito of Ecuador while Flamengo take on the Argentinian side Racing. The Copa Libertadores final takes place on November 29. From 1960 to 2004, the Intercontinental Cup pitted the champions of Europe and South America against each other. In 2005, it was renamed the Club World Cup to include other continental champions but that competition was relaunched this year as a quadrennial tournament featuring 32 teams with Chelsea as the inaugural winners of the new format. The Intercontinental Cup was itself relaunched in its new form last year when Real Madrid beat Mexican club Pachuca.