For the first time in history, a Liga MX team will face Real Madrid in an official final. Let's see how the stats stack up.
The first final of a new competition, the Intercontinental Cup, will be played between teams from Mexico and Spain.
Pachuca booked their spot after beating Egyptian Al Ahly on Saturday. With no goals at full-time, or after extra time, the match was decided from the penalty spot, with the Mexicans leading 6-5 in the shootout.
Last week, Guillermo Almada's side defeated Libertadores champions Botafogo 3-0 on their way to the semi-finals and now the Tuzos face the biggest test of their 132-year history: against Spanish giants Real Madrid.
The first Mexican team to play an official final against Real Madrid
On Wednesday, Pachuca will become the first Mexican team to play in the final of an official international tournament against Real Madrid.
Playing in different leagues and on different continents, it is clear why there have not been many matches between Real Madrid and Mexican teams. Pachuca has never played against Madrid, neither in official nor unofficial competitions. So let's take a look at the Liga MX side that:
Mexican teams that played against Real Madrid in the official competition
Necaxa
Real Madrid and Necaxa met at the 2000 FIFA Club World Cup – the first edition of the tournament that would be renamed the Club World Cup a few years later.
The tournament was held in Brazil with two groups of four teams: two from South America, two from Europe and one each from North America, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Madrid and Necaxa both finished second in their groups and played the match for third place. It ended 1-1 after extra time and was decided from the penalty spot, with the Mexicans winning 3-4.
Cruz Azul
Madrid's next meeting with the Mexican opposition was at the 2014 Club World Cup, held in Morocco for the second year in a row. Cruz Azul qualified as winners of the 2013/14 CONCACAF Champions League, while Madrid booked their place as Champions League winners.
Stade de Marrakech was the venue for the semi-final – there was no match as Madrid emerged winners 0-4 with goals from Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Isco.
America
Two years later, Madrid faced Mexican rivals again at the same stage of the same competition.
Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo were the scorers as Madrid defeated the Eagles 0-2 in Yokohama on December 15, 2016.
There have been another 18 matches between Real Madrid and Mexican clubs in unofficial matches: preseason friendlies or summer tournaments such as the Teresa Herrera.
The most notable was the 2004 Trofeo Bernabéu game, in which Pumas were the invited guests.
Israel Castro grabbed the winner after 70 minutes in the Spanish capital as Pumas became the fifth visiting club to lift the trophy.
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