The year 2026 continues with more excitement just a few days after starting, as next Thursday, Jan. 8, one of the most exciting matches in international football will take place at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City: the French football 'Le Classique.' The current UEFA Champions League champion, Paris Saint-Germain, faces Olympique de Marseille, but now with the special touch that it will be the Trophee des Champions final.

The Parisian squad will seek to start the year with the same chemistry as the extraordinary previous year, as Desire Doue said: "We are hungry to go after every trophy; we are not satisfied."

PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi recently met with employees and players to reiterate the club’s ambitions in the new year, underlining that the collective spirit must remain "stronger than ever."

The current UEFA Champions League champion comes from starting the year on the right foot by defeating Paris FC 2-1 in the Parisian derby at Parc des Princes. That match positioned them in second place in Ligue 1 with 39 points, only one point behind the first-place squad, Lens.

Meanwhile, the Olympique de Marseille squad is not starting 2026 in good form, coming off a painful home defeat at the Velodrome Stadium when facing the Football Club Nantes squad and losing 0-2. This is without mentioning that the match ended with two ejections for the Marseille squad.

Today, the list of Parisian players making the trip to Kuwait City was released and is as follows:

• 4 - Beraldo
• 5 - Marquinhos
• 6 - Zabarnyi
• 7 - Kvaratskhelia
• 8 - Fabian
• 9 - G. Ramos
• 10 - Dembele
• 14 - Doue
• 17 - Vitinha
• 21 - L. Hernandez
• 24 - Mayulu
• 25 - Nuno Mendes
• 29 - Barcola
• 30 - Chevalier
• 33 - Zaire-Emery
• 45 - Nsoki
• 51 - Pacho
• 60 - Martin James
• 87 - Joao Neves
• 89 - Renato Marin

Absences:

Matvey Safonov, Lee Kang-in, and Quentin Ndjantou are injured.

Hakimi and Mbaye are with their national teams competing in the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Olympique de Marseille squad will seek to recover from their start to the year and break a 15-year drought without lifting a trophy.

Meanwhile, the squad led by the Spaniard Luis Enrique will undoubtedly seek to obtain the 14th cup of this competition and continue being the top winner in France.

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