At the time that Paris Saint-Germain won the penalty shootout against Flamengo in Doha, there were thousands of people around the Parc des Princes, the stadium where the French team plays its games. But it wasn’t because of the Intercontinental Cup decision, nor were it PSG fans.
It was the fans of the Parisian rival, Paris FC, entering the Jean Bouin stadium, literally across the street, to watch the game against Barcelona, in the women’s Champions League. Just 50 meters separate the stadiums of PSG and PFC, both currently in the French first division.
Unlike what happened in the Champions League final (a five-nil defeat over Internazionale, from Italy), there were no motorcades and fireworks throughout the French capital. Parque dos Príncipes was closed and in darkness.
The decision in Doha was treated, however, with importance by the French club and the local press — after all, it was worth the sixth title in 2025 for PSG, French champion, the Champions League, the French Cup, the European Super Cup and the Champions Trophy, the French super cup. “Paris in the sixth heaven” was the title of the website of the sports newspaper L’Équipe.
The match was broadcast on open TV on channel M6 and on pay TV on the BeIn Sports channel, which belongs to a Qatari group chaired by Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, also president of PSG.
Former PSG idol Raí was a special guest on the BeIn Sports broadcast. Answering the inevitable question about who he would support, he was diplomatic. “Flamengo is from Rio and I’m more from São Paulo, but I’m Brazilian, [o Flamengo] represents Brazil, so I’m a little divided.”
At the end of the broadcast, Raí was no longer in the studio. He is an ambassador for Paris FC and regularly follows the matches of local rival PSG’s men’s and women’s teams.
During the broadcast, French commentators praised the Brazilian team’s discipline in marking, although they criticized the excessive force in fouls at times. “They surprised me, these Brazilians. I thought they were slower,” said former defender Luis Fernandez, who took the penalty that eliminated Brazil in the 1986 World Cup.
In the second half, commentator Grégory Paisley called for Saúl’s expulsion, in which Flamengo’s Spaniard received a yellow card for a tackle on Nuno Mendes.
Narrator Philippe Genin lamented the goal Marquinhos missed, in the small area, in the last play of regulation time. “Oh, oh, oh, he was close. Imagine going from giving away the penalty to the winning goal.”
The hero, of course, was Russian goalkeeper Matveï Safonov. “Little required during the game, he was brilliant during the penalty session”, summarized L’Équipe.
