The return of European club soccer after a thrilling World Cup continues to inch closer, with UEFA's annual Super Cup, billed as the 'curtain-raiser' for the new season, taking place Wednesday, August 12.
PSG, the reigning Champions League title-holder and winner of the most recent Super Cup after dispatching Tottenham Hotspur on penalties last year, will be challenged by Aston Villa.
The tournament was birthed from the mind of a Dutch sportswriter at a time when European competitions were split between the European Cup, for winners of the leagues, and the Cup Winners' Cup.
The new format of European competition, seeing three levels of clear stratification, mean this match may feel more like a preseason friendly in most editions than a decider
of regional supremacy like when it was founded.
Now, the UEFA Champions League winner meets the winner of the UEFA Europa League - but even if the Europa Leauge team is able to claim a victory, the ultimate bragging right will stay with the winner of the Champions League, which is clearly the top club competition in the world because of the quality of teams and players who take part.
In fact, PSG is unlikely to call on star men like Fabian Ruiz, who won the World Cup with Spain, or its cohort of France internationals like Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Bradley Barcloa or Lucas Hernandez. Villa, too, is expected to leave out Argentina goalkeeper Dibu Martinez, plus England duo Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa, while Three Lions attacker Morgan Rogers has moved to Chelsea after a strong World Cup.
Still, the game may have some echoes of the teams' last meeting at the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League, in which PSG won the first leg 3-1, then scored the first two goals of the second leg but had to weather a Villa rally. The Birmingham club scored three goals unanswered, falling just 5-4 on aggregate in the quarterfinal. PSG went on to the first of two consecutive Champions League titles.
How did Paris Saint-Germain reach the UEFA Super Cup?
PSG won the UEFA Champions League final, beating Arsenal in penalties to edge out the Gunners and win a second consecutive UCL title.
This year, PSG will look to become the first team to win three consecutive titles since Real Madrid achieved the feat between 2015-16 and 2017-18.
How did Aston Villa reach the UEFA Super Cup?
Villa rolled past Freiburg 3-0 in the final of the Europa League, having gotten to the final in dominant fashion. Villa won its semifinal with fellow English squad Nottingham Forest by a 4-1 aggregate margin, its quarterfinal against Bologna 7-1 on aggregate and the round of 16 tie with Lille on a 3-0 aggregate scoreline.
Villa has won the Super Cup before, lifting the trophy when it was contested over two legs back in the 1980s. After winning the European Cup, Villa beat Barcelona 3-0 in extra time at Villa Park to overturn a 1-0 loss at Camp Nou and win the 1982 Super Cup in a pair of January 1983 contests.
Where will the UEFA Super Cup be played?
The match is set to take place in Salzburg, Austria in the Red Bull Arena. Typically the home of RB Salzburg in the Austrian top division, the stadium seats nearly 30,000 fans for European competition.
If the teams are tied at the end of 90 minutes, the fans in Austria will be treated to a shootout rather than extra time, with both clubs tuning up for the regular season. PSG begins its Ligue 1 campaign August 23 against Rennes, while Aston Villa opens its Premier League season against Brighton and Hove Albion.
Who will ref the UEFA Super Cup?
More eyes than usual will be on the man in the middle, with Somali referee Omar Artan becoming the first non-European referee to oversee the fixture.
UEFA announced the appointment of the 2025 CAF Men’s Referee of the Year shortly after news broke that Artan was not allowed into the United States to officiate matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Two assistant referees from Africa, Liban Abdoulrazack Ahmed of Djibouti and Stephen Eleazar Onyango Yiembe of Kenya make up the on-field crew alongside a Slovenian fourth official, Rade Obrenovič. The VAR and assistant VAR also will hail from Europe.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is the UEFA Super Cup? PSG and Aston Villa meet in annual European showdown
