The 2026 UEFA Super Cup will feature UEFA Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain and UEFA Europa League victors Aston Villa. The match is scheduled for Wednesday, 12 August, with a 21:00 CET kick-off at Stadion Salzburg in Salzburg, Austria. This traditional European season curtain-raiser pits the winners of Europe’s two main club competitions against each other.
Paris Saint-Germain, who are the reigning Ligue 1 champions, will be aiming to secure consecutive UEFA Super Cups, having won the trophy in 2025. They previously overcame Tottenham on penalties in the 2025 edition held in Udine, Italy. If they succeed, they would become only the second team in the modern era to retain the Super Cup, a feat previously achieved by Real Madrid in 2016 and 2017.
Aston Villa enters the match following their victory over Freiburg in the Europa League final in Istanbul. The club has a history with the Super Cup, having won it once before in the 1982/83 season by defeating Barcelona 3-1 on aggregate over two legs.
Match Officials and Venue Details
The match will be officiated by Omar Artan, a Somali referee. Artan was named the 2025 Confederation of African Football (CAF) men’s referee of the year. He was previously in line to participate in the 2026 World Cup but was prevented from entering the United States.
The venue for the final, Stadion Salzburg, is home to RB Salzburg. The stadium has a capacity of 30,000 and has previously hosted three games during UEFA Euro 2008, which Austria co-hosted with Switzerland. It marks the first time this venue will stage a showcase UEFA club final.
Since the fixture moved from its long-term home in Monaco, Stadion Salzburg will be the 14th different venue to host the UEFA Super Cup. Previous host cities include Prague (2013), Cardiff (2014), Tbilisi (2015), Trondheim (2016), Skopje (2017), Tallinn (2018), Istanbul (2019), Budapest (2020), Belfast (2021), Helsinki (2022), Piraeus (2023), Warsaw (2024), and Udine (2025).
Team Preparations and Squad News
Paris Saint-Germain has seen the arrival of attacking midfielder Maghnes Akliouche from Monaco this summer. Young talent Senny Mayulu could be in line for a starting position, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has had an uninterrupted pre-season, is expected to feature.
For Aston Villa, new signings include centre-back Modou Kéba Cissé from Austrian side LASK, midfielder João Gomes from Wolves, and Argentinian winger Alejandro Garnacho on loan from Chelsea. These three players could potentially make their competitive debuts in Salzburg. Additionally, Johan Manzambi has joined from Freiburg but will miss the Super Cup due to a knee injury. Other players out for Villa include Bailey (muscular) and Onana (knee).
Several players are listed as doubtful for both teams due to fitness concerns. For Paris, these include Barcola, Dembélé, Doué, Fabián Ruiz, Hakimi, Lucas Hernández, and Zaïre-Emery. Aston Villa has fitness doubts over Konsa, Martínez, and Watkins, in addition to Garnacho (facial) and McGinn (knee).
The Champions League winners have historically performed well in the Super Cup, with the European Cup/Champions League holders winning 30 of the 50 editions. In the event of a draw after normal time, the match will proceed directly to a penalty shoot-out without extra time.
Source: uefa.com