FIFA Club World Cup: Bayern Munich edge Boca Juniors, Flamengo stun 10-man Chelsea
Bayern Munich sealed their place in the knockout stage of the FIFA Club World Cup with a narrow 2-1 win over Boca Juniors in Miami Gardens, while Brazilian side Flamengo pulled off a stunning 3-1 comeback victory over Chelsea in Las Vegas.Olise winner sends Bayern throughMichael Olise struck in the 84th minute to give Bayern Munich a hard-fought win over Boca Juniors on Friday, keeping the German champions perfect in Group C and booking their spot in the next round.advertisementAfter a scrappy sequence in the penalty area, Harry Kane poked the ball back to Olise, who rifled a low shot into the bottom left corner to break the deadlock.
Earlier, Kane had put Bayern ahead in the 26th minute after Kingsley Coman cushioned Konrad Laimer's pass into his path. Despite taking a heavy first touch, the England striker recovered quickly to fire a left-footed shot past Boca keeper Sergio Romero.But Boca, needing a result to stay in contention, hit back midway through the second half. Alan Velasco played a precise ball over the top, which Miguel Merentiel latched onto before beating two defenders and lifting a superb finish over Manuel Neuer to level the match.Bayern, who had hammered Auckland City 10-0 in their opener, now sit top of the group with six points from two games. Boca remain on one point and must beat Auckland City convincingly in their final match in Nashville, while also hoping Bayern beat Benfica in Charlotte.Flamengo rally past Chelsea in VegasadvertisementOver in Las Vegas, Chelsea squandered a first-half lead and finished with 10 men as Flamengo produced a blistering second-half performance to win 3-1 and take command of Group D.Pedro Neto gave Chelsea an early lead in the 13th minute after Flamengo fullback Wesley slipped while attempting a clearance. The ball fell kindly to Neto, who calmly finished past Agustin Rossi.The goal gave Chelsea control, and they created several more chances—Malo Gusto and Liam Delap both tested Rossi, while Enzo Fernandez had a volley cleared off the line just before half-time. Chelsea also had a penalty shout turned down when Fernandez appeared to be held in the box.Flamengo came out firing after the break. Bruno Henrique, introduced at the interval, equalised in the 62nd minute after Gonzalo Plata's header across goal left him with a simple tap-in. Three minutes later, Henrique turned provider, nodding a corner back into the six-yard box for Danilo to smash home.Chelsea's hopes of a response were dashed soon after when substitute Nicolas Jackson was sent off for a reckless studs-up challenge on Ayrton Lucas in the 68th minute.The Brazilians sealed the win with seven minutes left. Plata powered down the right and forced a save from Robert Sanchez, but Wallace Yan reacted quickest to tuck away the rebound.With two wins from two, Flamengo now lead the group with six points. Chelsea remain second on three, while Esperance and LAFC-both without a point—have a game in hand.Trending Reel
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The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
How many matches have been interrupted due to adverse weather conditions at FIFA Club World Cup?
The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 has run into an unforeseen impediment as several of its matches have been interrupted due to adverse weather conditions. While some matches have started late, the latest game to be affected was that between Benfica and Auckland City, which was being played at the Inter & Co Stadium in Florida. Heavy thunder and lightning saw the match resume after a two-hour delay. How many matches have been interrupted due to bad weather? Four matches have been affected among the 20 played in the Club World Cup so far. A significant delay in 20 per cent of the matches could pose serious challenges for FIFA, which has the international men's world cup planned in the United States, Mexico and Canada next year. Sportstar looks at all the matches in the FIFA Club World Cup that have been affected by weather so far: Sl. No. Match Date Venue Delay 1. Mamelodi Sundowns vs Ulsan HD June 18 Inter & Co. Stadium, Orlando 65 minutes 2. Salzburg vs Pachuca June 19 TQL Stadium, Cincinatti 97 minutes 3. Palmeiras vs Al Ahly June 19 MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford 40 minutes 4. Benfica vs Auckland City June 20 Inter & Co. Stadium, Orlando 120 minutes
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Meet Nathan Lobo, an Overseas Citizen of India, playing in FIFA Club World Cup 2025
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We caught up with left-back Nathan Lobo for his thoughts after the… — 🇳🇿 Auckland City FC (@AucklandCity_FC) June 6, 2025 'I know there's a lot of press and public saying that we don't deserve to be here, but we have won our title in Oceania, the equivalent of the European Championship, to get to this tournament. I think we do deserve to be here,' Nathan tells Sportstar. 'Obviously, it's disappointing in the way we lost, but if you take a step back and think about the level we're competing against, it's the top one per cent of footballers in the whole world.' Managing football with studies Auckland City is a team made almost entirely of players who have a day job or primary vocation other than football. The goalkeeper, Conor Tracey, is a warehouse supervisor who combined his leaves to play in the Club World Cup against his idol, Manuel Neuer. 'We've got people like Joe (Joseph) Lee, who works for Samsung in technical support. We've got salespeople, real estate agents and a couple of students as well, the younger boys in the team,' Nathan adds. He is a student too. Having graduated from Auckland University last month in Health Sciences, he is now looking to do his Master's. 'I've grown up in an Indian family. My parents really wanted me to study. But I'm really grateful that they weren't pushing me to study a ridiculous amount. They kind of wanted me to play sports and enjoy as well,' he says. READ: FIFA Club World Cup: Bayern Munich edges Boca Juniors, advances to knockouts And he has managed the two virtues well. He has over 100 appearances for Auckland City, winning four Oceania Champions League titles with the side. Nathan Lobo greets Karim Benzema before a FIFA Club World Cup match in 2023. | Photo Credit: Instagram/Lobz45 'Trying to balance football and studies is incredibly difficult, especially with the subjects that I have taken. I start early, driving to the train station and commuting into the city. Most days I'm at the university from 8 a.m. until evening,' Nathan explains. 'And then I'm straight back on the train, go to the car, then to training in the evening. I finish my day at about 8.30, get home, shower, eat dinner, and do it all again the next day.' The India connection Nathan's parents are from two separate parts of India. His father, Richard Nathan, hails from Mangalore, while his mother, Anthea, has Goan heritage. 'My dad used to work on the cruise ships, in the hotel industry, and so did my mom. They both grew up in Mumbai and decided to either move to Australia or New Zealand, back in 2000 or 2001, and I was born in 2002,' Nathan says. Though he grew up in New Zealand, the family visits Mumbai once every one or two years. 'The only family I have in New Zealand is my immediate family. So, my cousins and grandparents are all in India. We recently went there in December. You miss them, and, in Indian culture, family is really important,' Nathan adds. ALSO READ: FIFA Club World Cup: Benfica cruises past Auckland in weather-delayed encounter And during one of the darkest times of his life, this second home of Nathan, thousands of miles away from New Zealand, became a beacon of light for him. 'When I was 14, I broke my ankle, and I thought it was the end of the world because it was a week before the national tournaments (in 2016). I was pretty devastated. I ended up spending the summer in India,' Nathan says. 'I just remember being in a lot of pain because I had an operation and three screws in my (left) ankle. So, I had a lot of painkillers. But I did get to just spend time with my grandparents and get closer to them. Friends and family do help you get through times like this.' Within nine months, Nathan recovered and then won the Under-16 Oceania Championship with New Zealand. He would go on to represent the U-23 side, helping it reach consecutive Olympic Games. New Zealand celebrates winning the U16 Oceania Championship in 2018. | Photo Credit: Instagram/Lobz45 To play or not to play for India Nathan is not the first player with Indian parents to progress through the national team set-up of the All Whites. Sarpreet Singh, a midfielder born to Indian parents, rose through the age-group sides of New Zealand, playing U-20 and U-23, before securing a spot in the senior team. Next year, he will be the first player of Indian origin (immediate lineage) to play in the FIFA World Cup. Overseas citizens of India or players of Indian origin are currently not allowed to play for the country. However, several Asian countries, Thailand, Qatar and Australia, to name a few, have benefited from not having such a rule. To play for the tricolour, one has to give up the passport of their native country and stay in India for 12 months to then apply for an Indian passport. But according to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), talks are underway to make the provisions more flexible for OCIs. 'We are in communication with 33 players who fall into the category of OCI. Some of them have OCI cards, and some of them are in the process of applying. We are assisting them in this process,' Kalyan Chaubey, the president of the AIFF, said in a press conference on June 13. Kalyan Chaubey, president of the AIFF, has maintained that talks are underway to make the provisions more flexible for OCIs. | Photo Credit: Biswaranjan Rout/The Hindu Unlike Sarpreet, who has already played 19 times for the senior team, Nathan still has a chance to represent India as he has only played till the U-23 level. According to FIFA, a player can switch allegiance to a new country if they have not played at the senior level. This provision most recently saw Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury switch his allegiance to Bangladesh, despite playing for England at the U-21 level. 'You can never say never. I have an OCI (card), and you can never say what can happen in the future. Currently, my focus is on New Zealand and trying to make it to its national team,' Nathan says. NathanLobo helped the U23 New Zealand team qualify for Paris 2024 Olympics. | Photo Credit: Instagram/Lobz45 Irrespective of what happens internationally, Nathan is living the moment of his life in the United States. 'I don't think I ever thought I would be playing Bayern Munich. So, it's a real dream come true,' he says. 'After the game, when you're a bit disappointed with the result, but then you think about that little boy that you were 17 years ago. I think he'd be really proud.'
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Inter's Acerbi threatens PSG fan over Champions League taunting
Inter Milan defender Francesco Acerbi lost his cool after a Club World Cup fan, wearing a Paris St. Germain shirt in Seattle, taunted him about last month's Champions League final, with the Italian threatening to beat him up if the teasing continued. The fan brought up a humiliating moment from Inter's 5-0 defeat by the French champion in Munich, in which Acerbi was left sprawling after some dazzling footwork by Bradley Barcola. READ: FIFA Club World Cup: Bayern Munich edges Boca Juniors, advances to knockouts On a video that went viral on social media, the visibly annoyed Italian international sought the help of a translator during a meet-and-greet with fans. The translator told the fan in English on Thursday: 'You must be serious with him.' Seconds later, Acerbi stepped in to say in Italian: 'I'm serious. Don't make fun of me — I don't like it. ... I'm crazy, I'll beat the crap out of you.' Acerbi then quickly moved on, posing for photos with other fans. Inter was not immediately available for comment. The side takes on the Urawa Red Diamonds in Group E on Saturday.
