Category World News

Copa del Rey 2025 final: Real Madrid vs Barcelona – start, teams, favourite

Real Madrid and Barcelona will square off in the Copa del Rey (King’s Cup) final for the third time this year.

After defeating Real 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final in January and 4-0 in a LaLiga game in October, Barcelona will be looking to record a hat-trick of victories on Saturday against fierce foes this 2024-2025 season.

Barcelona, the Copa’s most successful club, hasn’t reached the final since 2021 when they defeated Athletic Bilbao, the most successful club in the competition. In 2023, Madrid won their 20th title against Osasuna, which they will play in their second final in three years.

The 260th competitive match between Barcelona and Real Madrid will take place on Saturday in a blockbuster showdown that will be the first time the two teams have met in a Copa final in 11 years.

Before the clash between Spain’s two football titans, find out everything you need to know:

The 2025 Copa Final will be held when?

Saturday night at 10 p.m. (20:00 GMT) will host the Copa del Rey final.

Follow Al Jazeera Sport’s live text and photo commentary stream.

Where is the location of the Copa final?

The 2025 Copa del Rey final will take place at the Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville.

One of the 11 stadiums used in the multi-country Euro 2020 tournament, the fifth-largest stadium in Spain, has a capacity of 57,600 people.

The 2024 Copa del Rey final between Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna was also held at Estadio de La Cartuja.

The 2025 Copa del Rey final will be held at the Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville.
Interior shot of Estadio La Cartuja.
[File: Jon Nazca/Reuters] A general view of the Estadio de La Cartuja

Who will win the Copa 2025, and by what team?

Barcelona are the favorite to win the Copa del Rey in light of their recent form and dominance at the top of the table.

Borussia Dortmund defeated 3-1 in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, but Hansi Flick’s side have lost just once this year across all competitions.

Barcelona has been rated as the shorter-odds favorite to win the Copa by numerous bookmakers using the Oddschecker platform, paying out an average of $2.10 for the victory over Real Madrid at $3.10.

The Catalan giant’s goal of winning the Copa del Rey, UEFA Champions League, and LaLiga treble is still unmet despite winning the Cup final.

The champion of the competition is Barcelona, Spain’s last hope in the Champions League.

With only five games left in the season, Barcelona holds a four-point lead over Real Madrid in LaLiga, Spain’s top league competition.

Soccer Football - LaLiga - FC Barcelona v Girona - Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Spain - March 30, 2025 FC Barcelona's Lamine Yamal shoots at goal REUTERS/Albert Gea
Only one match has Barcelona lost in 2025, under the leadership of several famous players like Lamine Yamal.

How did Barcelona and Real Madrid reach the 2025 final?

Real Madrid defeated Real Sociedad 5-4 on aggregate in the semifinals to reach the Copa final, while Barcelona defeated Atletico Madrid in the semis with the same score to secure their spot in the title match.

Who is the Copa champion in a row?

Athletic Bilbao are the current Copa champions, but Osasuna knocked them out in the round of 16. Since Barcelona won it four years straight from 2015 to 2018, Bolivia’s exit made it impossible for the club to repeat.

What transpired when Real last faced Barca in the Copa title game?

In a Copa final last year, Real Madrid and Barcelona defeated Real 2-1 thanks to goals from Gareth Bale and Angel di Maria.

Gareth Bale in action.
On April 16, 2014, Real’s Gareth Bale, left, celebrates with Xabi Alonso after scoring his team’s second goal in the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona in Valencia.

How many Copa final encounters have Real and Barcelona had?

In the span of the competition’s history, Real Madrid and Barcelona have faced off 38 times.

In their final four games, Los Blancos are 2-0 up against Barca thanks to their slight advantage.

  • 2014: Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona
  • 2011: Real Madrid 1-0 Barcelona
  • 1990: Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid
  • 1983: Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid
  • 1974: Real Madrid 4-0 Barcelona
  • 1968: Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid
  • 1936: Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona

Who has won the most Copa del Rey titles overall?

  • Barcelona: 31
  • Athletic Bilbao: 24
  • Real Madrid: 20
  • Madrid, Atletico: 10
  • Valencia: eight

Lewandowski’s participation in the Copa final is uncertain.

Robert Lewandowski, the star striker for Barcelona, was diagnosed with a hamstring injury on Sunday, and he will miss the Copa del Rey final and Champions League semifinal, according to Spanish media reports.

The 36-year-old Polish forward came off during his team’s 4-3 LaLiga win over Celta Vigo on Saturday, making it Barcelona’s top goal scorer with 40 goals in all competitions.

Robert Lewandowski has a semitendinosus injury in his left thigh, according to a statement from Barcelona, who released the statement without specifying how long he would be sidelined.

Lewandowski could be out for three weeks, according to Spanish media.

Soccer Football - LaLiga - FC Barcelona v Celta Vigo - Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Spain - April 19, 2025 FC Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski reacts after sustaining an injury REUTERS/Albert Gea
Robert Lewandowski, a player for Barcelona, leaves the field on April 19, 2025, at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona with an injury.

Real Madrid team news

Carlo Ancelotti, the coach of Real Madrid, stated Kylian Mbappe is expected to start playing against Barcelona on a return from injury.

The French international missed the previous two LaLiga games due to an ankle issue that caused him to miss last week’s Champions League defeat against Arsenal.

Ferland Mendy and the forward should both be fit for the Clasico.

However, knee injuries keep Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal out of action.

news from the Barcelona team

Due to a hamstring issue, Lewandowski is the big-name absentee for Barcelona.

Due to injuries, only Alejandro Balde, Marc Casado, Marc Bernal, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are all available for Barcelona.

lineups that might exist

Thibaut Courtois, Lucas Vazquez, Antonio Rudiger, Raul Asencio, Raul Asencio, Fran Garcia, Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr, Kylian Mbappe, and Lucas Vazquez start for Real Madrid.

Wojciech Szczesny, Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Curbasi, Gerard Martin, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Ferran Torres start for Barcelona.

Is the Copa del Rey the oldest Spanish competition?

Yes . The Copa del Rey is the oldest national football competition in Spain, organized by the Royal Spanish Football Federation in 1903.

The Copa del Rey champions advance to the UEFA Europa League for the following season. The winner of the Europa League is given the opportunity to advance to the next highest-placed team without qualification if the winner has already qualified for Europe through their LaLiga ladder position.

Copa del Rey trophy.
[Photo: Fran Santiago/Getty Images] The Copa del Rey trophy

India, Pakistan trade gunfire as tensions rise over deadly Kashmir attack

As the UN calls for “maximum restraint” and “regular restraint,” Indian and Pakistani forces have engaged in firefights along the Line of Control (LOC) between the two nations in response to the recent deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam town.

Since 1947, India and Pakistan have fought for independence, with both claiming the entire area and governing distinct regions, which has exacerbated the conflict.

On Friday, sources from the Indian army told Al Jazeera that the Pakistani side was the shooter’s initiator. A government official in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Friday confirmed to the AFP news agency that troops exchanged fire, but did not specify what started the exchange.

According to Pakistani official Syed Ashfaq Gilani, “There was no firing on the civilian population.”

Although it was unknown where along the LOC the incident occurred, Bandipora’s Umar Mehraj, a reporter for Indian-administered Kashmir, reported that two other people were hurt in a separate incident.

At least 26 people were killed at a resort in Pahalgam on Tuesday, according to suspected rebels&nbsp, marking the deadliest attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in a quarter-century.

The Resistance Front (TRF), a group thought to be an offshoot of the Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Taiba armed group, was named in a statement claiming responsibility for the attack.

Indian police have offered a $23,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the three suspects from the UN-designated “terrorist organization.”

With India withdrawing from the Indus Waters Treaty and Pakistan suspending a canal irrigation project and closing its airspace to Indian airlines in retaliation for accusations that it was involved in the deadly incident, New Delhi and Islamabad have since engaged in a significant diplomatic diplomatic exchange.

Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors, who have waged three wars, have fallen to the lowest level in years as a result of the tit-for-tat announcements.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif vehemently refuted the claims that Islamabad was behind the attack in an interview with Al Jazeera late on Thursday.

He claimed that accusing Pakistan would not resolve the Indian “occupation” in Kashmir.

He continued, citing the LOC’s highly guarded nature as proof that “infiltration of some armed groups cannot be possible.”

General Upendra Dwivedi, the army chief in India, is traveling to Pahalgam on Friday to review security arrangements.

Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, had promised to “hunt the gunmen to the very end of the earth.”

Mehraj, a reporter for Al Jazeera in Pahalgam, reported that since the deadly attack, security has been increased in the area.

“Security organizations are also repressing media outlets more frequently.” He claimed that hundreds of people are being detained and questioned over their involvement in the attack.

Residents are also concerned that they could be caught in the crossfire, Mehraj continued.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan has stated that the nation is prepared to retaliate if India violates its rights.

He declared that Pakistan’s army was ready to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty against any misdeeds.

Pope Francis’s funeral to be less costly than his predecessors’

The Roman Catholic Church is preparing to lay him to rest as hundreds of thousands of mourners gather around the world to mark his passing, even though his funeral costs are likely to be significantly less than those of his predecessors.

The faithful can pay their respects by placing Francis’ body in St. Peter’s Basilica since Wednesday. Donald Trump’s funeral, which is scheduled for Saturday morning, is also expected to be attended by world leaders, including US President.

Francis requested a more modest burial than his predecessors. He made a change to the customary three-coffin burial customs of 2024, which included two made of cypress and oak and one made of lead, one inside the other. Popes can now be interred in a single coffin made of wood and lined with zinc in accordance with the new regulations. According to Francis’ wishes, the rule change also permits burial outside the Vatican.

He had requested a simple burial in the ground at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, a church outside the Vatican’s walls. Francis will be the first pope to be interred outside the Vatican since the 1600s and the first in more than 100 years.

Francis was renowned for adopting a modest lifestyle when he became papacy in 2013. The pope, who was born in Argentina, frequently traveled in modest vehicles and chose to reside in the Vatican guest house rather than the lavish Apostolic Palace.

He “always was more enthusiastic about visiting places where regular people lived, not the palaces, the halls of power, and so on.” That was very typical of him, according to Massimo Faggioli, a professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.

Francis stated in his final will and testament that an unnamed benefactor would pay for his burial and would send it to Santa Maria Maggiore’s Papal Basilica.

Because in Catholicism, symbols are very significant, and this is one of those situations, Faggioli continued.

The financial woes of Vatican loom large.

The Vatican has kept a tight-lipped about Francis’s funeral’s specific costs, but it has not responded to inquiries for information.

Papal funerals have historically cost millions of dollars. The Vatican lost $20 million in 1978, or more than $101 million today, as a result of the pope’s deaths and subsequent conclave. More recently, Pope Benedict XVI’s election and Pope John Paul II’s funeral in 2005 cost $9 million (roughly $14.7 million in current dollars).

The Church made $ 12.4 million in revenue that year from a tourist influx to its museums. Donations, stocks, bonds, real estate, and other investments are additional sources of income.

However, the Church has experienced significant financial strain in recent years. Just three days before his hospitalization in late February, Francis frequently fought with cardinals about church finances. He was the author of numerous financial reforms, some of which caused backlash, including slashing executive pay.

According to two sources with knowledge of the situation, the Church experienced a $87 million budget deficit just last year, according to Reuters news agency. Since 2022, the Vatican has not released a full budget.

Because this church is much bigger, the Vatican needs money, and it needs money. There are fewer Catholics in wealthy nations as a result of the service it provides to many more people in poor nations. And so the imbalance originates, according to Faggioli.

Rome is a city of crowds.

Due to Holy Week, which attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors, the city of Rome and the Vatican in particular, was already crowded.

Tens of thousands have already paid their respects to Francis’s passing or to attend the public viewing of his body, though it is still unknown how many will do so.

The crowds have been sizable in the past. In 1978, an estimated 100, 000 people gathered to mourn Paul VI. Pope John Paul II’s funeral service in Rome in 2005 reportedly attracted four million mourners. In contrast, Pope Benedict’s funeral was attended by an estimated 50, 000 people in St. Peter’s Square in January 2023, with more than 136, 000 people watching it on the Vatican’s YouTube livestream as the Church added the option for recent papal funerals for those who won’t be in Rome.

Yemen’s Houthi fighters down $200m worth of US drones in under six weeks

In recent weeks, Yemen’s Houthi-backed group has shot down seven US Reaper drones worth more than $200 million, making this the most significant material loss Washington has ever suffered from its fight against the rebels.

As the Houthis intensify their efforts to target American aircraft over Yemen, drones were destroyed between March 31 and April 22 according to defense officials.

Three drones were lost in just one week, which suggests that the Houthis’ ability to strike high-altitude US aircraft has improved.

When they crashed into water or land, the drones, each costing about $30 million, were engaged in surveillance or attack missions. According to The Associated Press news agency, the strikes took place on March 31 and on April 3rd, 9, 13, 18, 19, and 22, according to a defense official.

Since March 15, when US President Donald Trump imposed daily strikes against the group, hundreds of civilians have been reported killed in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled areas.

According to Dave Eastburn, a spokesman for Central Command, US forces have struck more than 800 targets, destroying command centers, weapons depots, and air defenses, and killing hundreds of Houthi leaders and leaders. This assertion was not subject to independent investigation.

The drone losses are being looked into but are likely the result of hostile fire, according to another US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In protest of Israel’s occupation of Gaza, the Houthis have primarily targeted Israeli, US, and British ships through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. If Israel consented to a permanent ceasefire, the organization claimed the attacks would stop.

Toll of civilian deaths rising

The Houthi movement’s leaders appear to have deliberately targeted targets in the Trump administration, shifting from focusing on just infrastructure to intentionally striking people.

According to Airwars, a monitoring organization with headquarters in the UK, the strategic change comes as the US-led campaign is causing more civilian casualties.

According to Airwars, between 27 and 55 civilians have died as a result of US strikes in March. Although full figures are unknown, the group holds up the belief that the toll will be significantly higher in April.

At least 80 people were killed and more than 150 were hurt in a US air strike that targeted the Ras Isa port, which is located in Hodeidah earlier this month.

In Yemen’s capital Sanaa, an additional attack on Monday that left 12 dead and more than 30 others injured.

Washington is becoming more concerned about the campaign’s human costs.

Senators Chris Van Hollen, Elizabeth Warren, and Tim Kaine have written to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to ask whether the administration is giving in to reducing civilian harm, especially in light of reports about the Ras Isa fuel terminal’s high civilian death toll.

Trump signs controversial order to boost deep-sea mining industry

In a bid to restrict US access to crucial minerals and metals beneath the seafloor, US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to expand the contentious but financially lucrative practice of deep-sea mining.

Trump signed the order privately on Thursday, aiming to reshape both the US and international waters as a counterweight to China’s overwhelming dominance of the world’s crucial minerals.

In the order, Trump stated that “the United States has a fundamental interest in maintaining leadership in deep-sea science and technology and seabed mineral resources.”

The order directs the US government to establish a procedure for issuing permits along the US outer continental shelf and to expedite the drilling authorizations required by the Deep Seabed Hard Minerals Resource Act of 1980.

Additionally, it directs the international community to be in disagreement with the expedited review of seabed mining permits “in areas beyond the national jurisdiction.”

The US economy will increase by $300 billion and 100 000 jobs over the next ten years, according to the White House, while deep-sea mining will produce billions of metric tons of materials.

Environmental organizations are urging the ban of all deep-sea mining operations because they fear the ocean floor’s industrialization could lead to irreversible biodiversity loss.

According to Arlo Hemphill of Greenpeace, “the United States government has no right to unilaterally permit an industry to rip up the deep sea for the profit of a few corporations.”

From a depth of 4, 000 to 6, 000 meters, deep-sea mining targets resources like potato-sized polymetallic nodules. The industry’s sectors use critical materials, including manganese, iron, cobalt, copper, and nickel, in the nodules.

At the beginning-up company DeepGreen Resources, a seafloor mining start-up, a polymetallic or manganese nodule is displayed at a meeting of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada in Toronto in 2019. [File: Chris Helgren/Reuters]

Due to the industry’s growing dependence on China, one of the US’s largest trading partners and its greatest geopolitical rival, has become more and more politicized.

The US Secretary of Commerce has 60 days to “accelerate the review and issuing seabed mineral exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits in areas beyond national jurisdiction” according to Trump’s executive order.

The ocean floor is still largely unexplored, with the rest of the world still relatively unexplored. About three-quarters of the moon’s surface is still unmapped, compared to the seabed.

Deep-sea mining is regulated by the UN’s International Seabed Authority, but the US is not a member and has never ratified any of its relevant agreements.

The US is permitted to mine deep-sea in its territorial waters, which are 200 kilometers (124 miles) offshore, under international law. Trump is still using the “obscure 1980 law” that gives the federal government authority to issue seabed mining permits, according to The New York Times, making an additional push for international mining.

American Samoa, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean, has recently been the target of deep-sea mining efforts.

US to offer Saudi Arabia $100bn weapons deal as Trump visit planned: Report

According to six Reuters-connected sources who are close to the deal, the United States is reportedly prepared to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth more than $100 billion.

According to Reuters, the deal is reportedly in development ahead of Donald Trump’s planned trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE next month.

According to Reuters, top defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, RTX Corp, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and General Atomics are reportedly providing advanced weapons systems, and several executives from those firms are scheduled to travel with Trump’s delegation.

According to the contractors, Riyadh could receive a variety of weapons, including C-130 transport aircraft, missiles, and radar systems, according to the sources cited by Reuters.

However, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet is unlikely to be accessible to Saudi Arabia. Only a select few nations, including NATO allies, Japan, South Korea, and Australia, can purchase F-35s from the US.

During a joint air drill in South Korea in March 2023, US Air Force B-1B bombers and South Korean Air Force F-35A fighter jets flie in formation over the South Korean Peninsula.

President Joe Biden, who was Trump’s predecessor, unsuccessfully attempted to ratify a new military agreement with Saudi Arabia with the aim of normalizing relations with Israel. Reuters said it was unable to determine whether Trump’s proposed deal would call for similar restrictions in Riyadh, despite the fact that the pact also called for a ban on Chinese investment and halting Beijing’s arms purchases.

A US defense official told Reuters that “security cooperation continues to be a significant component” of the US-Saudi relationship, but neither the White House nor Saudi officials immediately responded to the request for comment. Reuters cited none of the defense contractors, who responded to inquiries.

Following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, sales of weapons in Saudi Arabia decreased in 2018. In response to the murder and Riyadh’s involvement in the Yemen war, the US Congress banned the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia in 2021.