Latest news with #ManuelNeuer
Al Jazeera
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Al Jazeera
Bayern beat Boca to seal Club World Cup last 16 spot
Michael Olise's 84th-minute goal was enough to give Bayern Munich a 2-1 win over Boca Juniors in Miami Gardens, as the reigning German champions clinched a spot in the knockout phase of the Club World Cup. After a scramble in the penalty area, Harry Kane sent the ball back to Olise, who blasted a shot into the bottom left corner of the net. Boca had levelled Friday's match in the 66th minute on a goal from Miguel Merentiel after Kane gave Bayern a first-half lead. Bayern (2-0-0, 6 points) faced a much stiffer test than in their Group C opener, a 10-0 rout of semi-pro Auckland City (0-2-0, 0 points). Boca Juniors (0-1-1, 1 point) still have a chance to advance, but they would need to rout Auckland City on Tuesday in Nashville and have Benfica (1-0-1, 4 points) lose to Bayern the same day in Charlotte. For Boca's tying goal, Alan Velasco delivered a pass from midfield into space for Merentiel to chase. Merentiel beat Bayern defender Jonathan Tah to the ball, then rounded defender Josip Stanisic before firing a 12-yard, right-footed shot over the head of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and into the net. Bayern also produced an impressive goal. Konrad Laimer fired an entry pass to the centre of the Boca penalty area. Kingsley Coman knocked the ball back to Kane, who took a heavy touch but still reached the ball in time to fire in a 12-yard shot with his left foot.
Forbes
a day ago
- Sport
- Forbes
Auckland City Deserves Club World Cup Spot More Than Bayern, Benfica And Boca
CINCINNATI, OHIO - JUNE 15: Referee Issa Sy tosses the coin with Manuel Neuer of FC Bayern Munich ... More and Mario Ilich of Auckland City during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group C match between FC Bayern München and Auckland City FC at TQL Stadium on June 15, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Stuart Franklin - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images) Another heavy defeat will be expected for Auckland City when it faces Benfica in its second match of the FIFA Club World Cup on Friday afternoon, which will likely lead to more questions around the New Zealand club's inclusion in the tournament. Auckland City is the sole representative from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and is the only team in the competition with amateur status. Its 10-0 loss to German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich in the opening game of Group C led many to question its presence at the tournament, and whether a team from the OFC deserves a place at this newly expanded Club World Cup. Auckland City's participation does raise numerous issues from various angles, sporting and economic. These include issues of inequality in a global game, FIFA's claims that the Club World Cup involves the world's best teams, and the organisation of soccer in the Oceania region, where its strongest nation, Australia, moved to the Asian confederation in 2006. There should be no doubt, though, that Auckland City fully deserves its place at the Club World Cup. It could even be argued that it deserves its palace more than any other team in its group. CINCINNATI, OHIO - JUNE 15: Jamal Musiala #42 of FC Bayern Munchen talks to Jerson Lagos #17 of ... More Auckland City FC during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group C match between FC Bayern Munchen and Auckland City FC at TQL Stadium on June 15, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images) Auckland City, the reigning champion of the New Zealand National League, met the qualifying criteria in the most convincing fashion. It won all three of the OFC Champions League tournaments played in the qualifying period of 2021 to 2024, and also won the most recent edition for good measure, defeating Hekari United of Papua New Guinea 2-0 in the final in April this year. This means the club has won the last four consecutive editions of the region's version of the Champions League, and has now won 13 of the 24 editions of Oceania's continental competition. None of the other teams in Auckland City's group qualified by winning their equivalent competition. Neither Bayern Munich nor Benfica won the UEFA Champions League in the qualification period, and Boca Juniors has not won the South American version of the Champions League, the Copa Libertadores, since 2007. Though these teams from Europe and South America are far richer than Auckland City and are made up entirely of professional players, many of whom are or have been among the best in international soccer, none of them qualified for the Club World Cup by winning a trophy. Auckland City did. Bayern, Benfica, and Boca all qualified via the rankings system, which is used to top up the tournament to 32 teams once all the teams qualifying via the main route of winning their confederation's top club competition have been decided. The OFC only gets one spot at the Club World Cup, but it's right that it gets a spot, regardless of the level of the team that qualifies. If such a tournament were to introduce a more artificial qualification method to accommodate all the top teams in the world, it would be heavily biased towards Europe and, to a lesser extent, South America. As a result, it would lose the 'world' aspect of the competition, which is the whole point of it in the first place. ORLANDO, FLORIDA - JUNE 19: Head Coach Paul Posa of Auckland City FC speaks during the ... More Training/Press Conference ahead of their FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group match between Auckland City FC and SL Benfica at Inter&Co Stadium on June 19, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by) One-sided results are part of sport and are seen at all levels, including when professional teams play professional teams in the soccer's biggest tournaments. Both Liverpool and Real Madrid have recorded 8-0 wins in the UEFA Champions League's lucrative group stage. The Copa Libertadores has seen scorelines of 9-0 and 11-2 in group stage matches, while the English Premier League—often held up as the pinnacle of domestic club football—has witnessed three 9-0 scorelines. There are some potentially negative knock-on effects regionally from Auckland City's participation. The prize money the club will receive, which is huge compared to prize money domestically and in the OFC, could further add to its dominance in New Zealand and Oceania, and skew the balance domestically and regionally. It also raises awareness of the development and organisation of the game in Oceania, and the fact that New Zealand does have two professional teams—Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix—but both play in the Australian A-League, and are therefore part of the Asian confederation. However, the principle of having a Club World Cup qualifier for the region, even if it's only one team, is right and proper. If such a tournament wants to represent the world, then it needs to include the world's teams. There might be the occasional one-sided result, and the distribution of FIFA's money beyond the participating teams needs to be better to avoid further regional disruption, but starting from a position of inclusivity is the right thing to do. Auckland City, unlike Bayern, Benfica, and Boca, is the champion of its region and fully deserves its place at the Club World Cup.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bayern aim to stay cool in CWC duel with Boca
Bayern Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer participates in a training session before the start of the Club World Cup group matches at the ESPN Sports Complex Sven Hoppe/dpa Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has said that Bayern Munich have to stay cool when they face Boca Juniors on Saturday night at the Club World Cup. Bayern are aware that their opponents from Buenos Aires are of a very different calibre than Auckland City who they trounced 10-0 in their opener. Advertisement Bayern coach Vincent Kompany drove from their base camp in Orlando to Miami to watch Boca's opening 2-2 draw with Benfica in which they led 2-0 early before having two players sent off while Benfica also ended the game with 10 men. Kompany named the match-up a highlight in the group stage, saying: "If I wasn't Bayern coach I would have still gone to this match. Clubs with a big tradition from Europe and South America. If you had to a game in the group stage it would be this one." Neuer said "we all saw how the game went" and that they will face fired-up team in Miami against who they have to "stay focused and cool and concentrate on our strengths." Kompany is not expected to make big changes to his line-up, but Jamal Musiala may start after getting his first 30 minutes and scoring a hat-trick off the bench against Auckland in the comeback from a hamstring injury. Advertisement Neuer said that "the teams from South America are not to be underestimated," and former Bayern striker Giovane Elber of Brazil highlighted that the tournament is of immense prestige for the six teams from South America. "They are fired up for the tournament. It gives them an opportunity to play against Bayern, against Real Madrid," Elber said. Elber was also on the pitch when Bayern last played Boca, in the 2001 Intercontinental Cup match in Tokyo which Bayern won 1-0.
Qatar Tribune
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Bayern happy to be at Club World Cup while others miss out, says Neuer
dpa Orlando, Florida Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is happy to be at the new-look Club World Cup and said only time will tell whether the event will be a success. The tournament has been expanded from seven to 32 teams and has a prize money of around $1 billion. Critics say it adds to an already saturated match calendar and raises player burnout fears. Bayern, who arrived on Tuesday at their base camp in Florida, and Borussia Dortmund are Germany's representatives at the June 14-July 13 event in the United States. But with European countries limited to two teams per country, and with qualifying based on past results, there are also prominent absentees such as English champions Liverpool and Spanish double winners Barcelona. 'I believe it is something special to be part of it. There are teams which are not part of it. It hurts them. They would surely also like to play,' Neuer said ahead of Bayern's opener on Sunday against Auckland City. The tournament is to be held every four years, and Neuer did not want to come to any conclusions about it just yet. 'We will see in a few years or decades what kind of standing this tournament format will have. It is difficult to say right now because it is played for the first time,' he said. 'We are looking forward to the tournament. We know what is at stake and we are happy to be part of it.' But Neuer also said he was aware of the risks as the event after a long domestic and European season adds considerably to player workload. 'The calendar is becoming tighter and tighter. This tournament takes place every four years. It is good that it isn't every year. It is becoming more and more. That is something to think about,' Neuer said.
New Straits Times
12-06-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Neuer: Bayern happy to be at Club World Cup while others miss out
ORLANDO: Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is happy to be at the new-look Club World Cup and said only time will tell whether the event will be a success, German Press Agency (dpa) reported. The football tournament has been expanded from seven to 32 teams and has a prize money of around US$1 billion (RM4.2 billion). Critics say it adds to an already saturated match calendar and raises player burnout fears. Bayern, who arrived on Tuesday at their base camp in Florida, and Borussia Dortmund are Germany's representatives at the June 14 to July 13 event in the United States. But with European countries limited to two teams per country, and with qualifying based on past results, there are also prominent absentees such as English champions Liverpool and Spanish double winners Barcelona. "I believe it is something special to be part of it. There are teams which are not part of it. It hurts them. They would surely also like to play," Neuer said ahead of Bayern's opener on Sunday against Auckland City. The tournament is to be held every four years, and Neuer did not want to come to any conclusions about it just yet. "We will see in a few years or decades what kind of standing this tournament format will have. It is difficult to say right now because it is played for the first time," he said. "We are looking forward to the tournament. We know what is at stake and we are happy to be part of it." But Neuer also said he was aware of the risks as the event, after a long domestic and European season, adds considerably to player workload. "The calendar is becoming tighter and tighter. This tournament takes place every four years. It is good that it isn't every year. It is becoming more and more. That is something to think about," Neuer said. – BERNAMA-dpa
