The 2012 Football League Cup final was a football match between Cardiff City and Liverpool on 26 February 2012 at Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 2011–12 Football League Cup, the 52nd season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in the Premier League and the Football League. Cardiff were appearing in their first final, while Liverpool were appearing in the final for the eleventh time; they had previously won seven and lost three finals.

As Cardiff were in the Football League, they played one more round than Liverpool who received a bye in the first round. Therefore, Cardiff progressed through six rounds to reach the final, whereas Liverpool progressed through five. Matches up to the semi-final were contested on a one-off basis with the exception of the semi-finals, which were contested over two-legs with a match at each team's home ground. Both Liverpool and Cardiff's matches were close affairs; their biggest margins of victory was by two goals. Liverpool beat Manchester City to reach the final, whereas Cardiff progressed via a penalty shoot-out against Crystal Palace.

Watched by a crowd of 89,041, Cardiff took the lead in the first half when Joe Mason scored. The score remained the same through half-time until Liverpool equalised in the 60th minute, when Martin Škrtel scored. With the score 1–1 at full-time, the match went to extra-time as neither side were able to score a second goal. The first half of extra-time was goalless, but three minutes into the second half Liverpool took the lead when Dirk Kuyt scored. However two minutes before the end of extra-time Cardiff equalised to make the score 2–2, courtesy of a goal from Ben Turner. With the score at 2–2 at the end of extra-time the match went to a penalty shoot-out. Despite missing their first two penalties, Liverpool won the shoot-out 3–2 to win the League Cup for a record eighth time.

Liverpool's manager Kenny Dalglish stated in the aftermath, that the victory would lead to more trophies, although Liverpool did not win another trophy until 2019. The club reached the 2012 FA Cup final, but were beaten 2–1 by Chelsea. Their league form faltered after the victory and they finished the season in 8th place. Despite this, victory in the final ensured Liverpool had qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. Cardiff manager Malky Mackay was proud of his team despite their defeat. They finished the season in 6th place in the 2011–12 Football League Championship, reaching the playoffs where they were beaten by West Ham United over two-legs.

Cardiff entered the 2011–12 Football League Cup in the first round where they faced Oxford United. The match played at the Kassam Stadium saw Cardiff take the lead in the 10th minute when Craig Conway scored. Oxford equalised 20 minutes later courtesy of a Simon Clist goal. Neither side was able to score a winning goal during the remainder of the match, which went into extra-time at 1–1. Two goals from Peter Whittingham and Nathaniel Jarvis secured a 3–1 victory for Cardiff. Their opponents in the second round were Huddersfield Town. Two goals in the first 16 minutes courtesy of Gabor Gyepes and Jon Parkin gave Cardiff an early 2–0 lead, which they held until the 55th minute when Huddersfield reduced the deficit to 2–1 courtesy of a Jordan Rhodes goal. Daniel Ward equalised for Huddersfield in the 69th minute before Rhodes scored his second goal of the match to give Huddersfield a 3–2 lead in the 87th minute. Cardiff equalised two minutes into stoppage time when Don Cowie headed the ball in from close range. With the score at 3–3 after 90 minutes the match went to extra-time. A goal each from Conway and Cowie gave Cardiff a 5–3 victory and progression to the third round.

Leicester City were the opponents in the third round. Cardiff playing at their home ground the Cardiff City Stadium took the lead in the 32nd minute when Cowie scored. Leicester equalised seven minutes later when Steve Howard scored from close range. Leicester then took the lead in the 65th minute courtesy of a Lloyd Dyer goal. Cardiff equalised when Rudy Gestede with nine minutes of the match remaining. The score remained 2–2 until full-time and throughout extra-time, which mean the match would be decided by a penalty shoot-out. Cardiff won the shoot-out 7–6 to progress to the fourth round.

Cardiff were drawn at home against Burnley in the fourth round. They won the match 1–0 courtesy of a Joe Mason goal in the first half. The result was the first time in the competition Cardiff's match did not go into extra-time and it was the first they had reached the quarter-finals of the League Cup since 1965. Their opponents in the quarter-finals were Blackburn Rovers. Two goals from Kenny Miller and Anthony Gerrard secured a 2–0 victory for Cardiff and their progression to the semi-finals.

Crystal Palace were Cardiff's opponents in the semi-final which was played over two-legs. The first leg was played at Palace's home ground Selhurst Park. Cardiff started the match the better of the two sides but were unable to convert their chances. Palace took the lead in the 43rd minute when Anthony Gardner headed in Darren Ambrose's cross. Neither side scored again and the match ended 1–0. The second leg at the Cardiff City Stadium started well for Cardiff when they went ahead in the seventh minute after an own-goal from Palace defender Gardner, which levelled the aggregate score at 1–1. Palace were reduced to ten men in the second half when Paddy McCarthy was sent-off. Despite their numerical advantage Cardiff were unable to a second goal during the 90 minutes and extra-time and the tie went to a penalty shoot-out. Cardiff goalkeeper Tom Heaton saved two penalties as Cardiff won the shoot-out 3–1 to progress to their first League Cup final.