Mexican team Pachuca beat Copa Libertadores champions Botafogo 3-0 on Wednesday to move into the semifinals of the Intercontinental Cup thanks to second-half goals from Oussama Idriss (28), Nelson Deossa (24) and Salomon Rondon (35). a.

Pachuca face Egypt’s Al Ahly on Saturday and have the chance to face Champions League winners Real Madrid in next week’s final.

After a long journey from Rio de Janeiro and less than three matchdays after winning the Brazilian league title, Botafogo coach Artur Jorge begrudged several key players from the start and his depleted team was a mere shadow of the dominant force that had taken South American football by storm conquered in 2024.

Coach Jorge was playing his fifth game in a third different country in just over two weeks and made five changes from the team that beat Atletico Mineiro 3-1 in the Copa Libertadores final in Buenos Aires 10 days ago. Pachuca had not played a competitive game for 31 days after being eliminated from Mexico’s Apertura competition.

Botafogo controlled possession throughout the game but was wasteful and missed too many chances. In the end they were punished when Idrissi brilliantly dribbled past three players on his way into the penalty area and shot the ball into the goal from close range in the 50th minute.

Coach Jorge made three changes in the 55th minute, bringing in captain Marlon Freitas, Argentine striker Thiago Almada and Copa Libertadores top scorer Junior Santos in an attempt to give his side the spark they were clearly lacking Errors from Botafogo’s defense gave Deossa their second goal in the 66th minute.

With the Brazilians desperately trying to get back into the game, Pachuca made the most of a quick counterattack, with Rondon scoring in the 80th minute to secure victory for the CONCACAF champions.

“Stepping onto the pitch just over 24 hours after arriving in a new country after a long journey, the jet lag and the relentless calendar is frustrating but it is something we cannot control as a team. We didn’t do that. “I don’t play well and that’s a hard pill to swallow,” Jorge said at a press conference.

“I’m not going to try to make excuses for what we didn’t do. Pachuca were better than us, they were more effective, they took advantage of the chances they had in the second half. But the facts are like this.” Because of the situation we found ourselves in, we couldn’t field the team we would like today.

“There is nothing else to say about the context because we have to stick to the result. The result wasn’t what we wanted, but nothing takes away what we’ve done so well this season.”