The Most Entertaining Finals in FIFA CWC/Intercontinental Cup History

 

A few finals in the FIFA CWC and its predecessor, the Intercontinental Cup, have been undoubtedly more entertaining clashes than the others with their goal galore.

There is nothing better than an entertaining showdown in the summit. Such is always expected in all competition, including the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final, as Chelsea is taking on UCL champion PSG.

Unfortunately, it is quite rare to see goal galore in the major tournaments, where both sides are at their peak in the last game of the competition and trade goals more than once, resulting in an even duel without too much difference between both teams. However, there has always been anomaly. The 2022 FIFA World Cup final is one example and is tipped as the best one in the tournament's history. The 2005 UCL final in Istanbul is another one with an even more thrilling display on the pitch.

In FIFA CWC and its predecessor, the Intercontinental Cup, the goal galore did exist in some editions, although such were not as often as the cagey encounters leading to narrow wins with only a single goal. Here are those clashes deemed as the most entertaining finals so far.

Juventus vs Argentinos Juniors (1985 Intercontinental Cup)

The first goal galore in the final took place in 1985 as Juventus and Argentinos Juniors faced off in the Intercontinental Cup. The Italian giant came with their star-studded squad. Under the tutelage of Giovanni Trappatoni, they had Michael Platini, Gli Azzurri stars such as Gaetano Scirea, Aldo Serena, and the World Cup winner Antonio Cabrini, plus the young Michael Laudrup. Meanwhile, the Argentine sides had the Argentine international Sergio Batista and the talented Claudio Borghi. They were led by one of Argentina’s top managers, Jose Yudica, one of the few South American managers who won league titles with three different local teams.

The game was exciting from the beginning as both sides employed offensive football. The first half ended goalless. Yet, it was the opposite in the second half. La Vecchia Signora were stunned first as they conceded in the early second half. Carlos Ereros lobbed the ball into the back of the net. Trappatoni’s men had to rely on Platini’s penalty to find the equaliser. The French skipper had a chance to put them in the lead. Unfortunately, his goal was disallowed.

Argentinos Juniors once again struck and restored their lead with Jose Castro’s goal initiated by Borghi’s penetration into Juventus’ backline in the 75th minute. The Italian finally responded with Laudrup’s goal, which showcased his technical ability and great one-two passing combination with Platini. The Frenchmanprovided the assist as the Danish star rounded the goalie and tapped into the far left side of the post as he made a run into the edge of the goal line.

The match was eventually decided on penalties. Lady luck was on the Italian powerhouse. Their shot stopper, Stefano Tacconi, saved two shots from Batista and Jose Pavoni, which sent them into raptures. Platini was then named the man of the match.

Nacional Montevideo vs. PSV Eindhoven (1988 Intercontinental Cup)

The similar story was about to repeat until the shootout. This time it was the CONMEBOL side who laughed last. The showdown between the Uruguayan and Dutch clubs indeed delivered another goal galore.

Nacional opened the scoring from Santiago Ostolaza in the seventh minute. The scoreline remained the same till the interval. Guus Hiddink’s PSV bounced back in the second half as the young Romario bagged an equaliser in the 75th minute. It was a 1-1 tie for 90 minutes. The game continued in the extra time. This time, PSV scored to take the lead from Ronald Koeman’s penalty. Yet, it was Ostolaza who came to save the day. He put his team back on level terms only three minutes before the final whistle.

The penalties, however, saw a different end. The protagonist was Nacional’s goalkeeper, Jorge Sere, as he made four saves from Wim Kieft’s, Soren Lerby’s, skipper Eric Gerets’, and Berry Van Aerle’s attempts. Such contributed heavily to their 7-6 victory since his three teammates failed to convert.

Sere might not have been named the MVP, although he did deserve it. Sadly, his form in the 120 minutes was not a particular highlight compared to his clinical saves in the shootout. The Golden Ball award was eventually given to Ostolaza, who netted a brace.

Sao Paulo vs. AC Milan (1993 Intercontinental Cup)

This was the only entertaining match in the competition, which was completed in 90 minutes! Tele Santana’s Sao Paulo, who was also the defending champion, was taking on the team Rossonerri. They were considered the ‘Dream Team’ of that decade. AC Milan was not exactly the Champions Cup winner. They were the runner-up, replacing the 1993 champion, Olympique Marseille, which was banned from international football following their involvement in the match-fixing case in Ligue 1.

The match was indeed dubbed one of the best in history as both sides traded goals and chances to score. Palhinha broke the deadlock first to give the Brazilian the lead in the 19th minute before Daniel Massaro’s goal equalised in the early second half. Seven minutes later, Sao Paulo regained their lead as Toninho Cerezo bagged a goal from his header.

As the game entered the last 10 minutes, Fabio Capello’s men once again found the equaliser through Jean-Pierre Papin’s header. After the series of attempts, Tele Santana’s side was finally on the front once more as Muller tappedthe ball into the back of the net in the 87th minute. He managed to slot it home by taking advantage of Sebastiano Rossi’s failed clearance in the six-yard box.

Sao Paulo at last clinched the title back-to-back and had beaten not only one Dream Team but two. Previously, it was Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona. Interestingly, some of Sao Paulo’s men would later play for the Italian Serie A powerhouse. They were Leonardo and Cafu.

Real Madrid vs. Kashima Antlers (2016 FIFA CWC)

The last entertaining final was rather unexpected, as it did not involve a South American side. Rather, it was the Japanese side competing as the host, and it became the first unlikely finalist from Asia.

In the 2016 FIFA CWC, everyone knew that Real Madrid would be unstoppable in lifting the trophy. They did not have much difficulty trashing any side, especially when Cristiano Ronaldo was at his peak. Nevertheless, they struggled to beat their opposition in the summit, Kashima Antlers.

Their performance in the competition stunned the world, especially their convincing 3-0 win over CONMEBOL champion Atletico Nacional in the semifinal. Antlers’ top form was expected to continue in the summit until CR7 himself ripped them in pieces by scoring a hat trick.

Los Blancos took an early lead in the 9th minute through Karim Benzema, following a rebound from Hitoshi Sogahata’s block on Luka Modrić’s shot. Zinedine Zidane’s side was unable to add up their tally. Antlers finally found their equaliser through Gaku Shibasaki’s strike just before halftime. He even added his tally to give his team the lead. Real Madrid had to rely on a penalty to draw level—Cristiano Ronaldo converted with ease. The game went into extra time, where Ronaldo bagged a brace to seal the win.