Platini, Zidane, Mbappé and the French path to the Intercontinental Cup | OneFootball

From Michel Platini and Zinédine Zidane to Kylian Mbappé, French players have long shaped the Intercontinental Cup. According to L'Équipe, Paris Saint-Germain’s upcoming final could extend that lineage.

PSG face Flamengo on Wednesday at 18:00 in Doha. The Brazilian side have just won the Copa Libertadores by beating Palmeiras 1-0. A Paris win, a first for a French club in the competition, could put Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué and Senny Mayulu on the roll of honour.

Before the Club World Cup era, Europe’s champions met the Libertadores winners. Nestor Combin struck first for France in 1969, helping AC Milan beat Estudiantes La Plata 3-0. In 1985 Michel Platini was man of the match for Juventus against Argentinos Juniors, scoring and converting the decisive shootout kick after a 2-2 draw.

Zinédine Zidane lifted the trophy with Juventus in 1996 after a 1-0 win over River Plate, then repeated the feat with Real Madrid in 2002, beating Club Olimpia 2-0 alongside Claude Makelele.

From 2005 it became the Club World Cup, where Karim Benzema won five times with Real Madrid, in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022, underlining Madrid’s dominance.

Revived in 2023 as the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, it again featured Madrid in 2024, a 3-0 win over CF Pachuca with Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Mbappé prominent. Camavinga and Tchouaméni were already champions in 2022, while Mbappé scored first and the triumph underlined a smooth start to his Madrid career.

Source: L'Équipe