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New York Times
an hour ago
- Climate
- New York Times
Benfica-Aukland City Club World Cup game endures over two-hour weather delay
The Club World Cup fixture between Benfica and Aukland City was delayed by more than two hours on Friday due to the weather conditions in Orlando. The fixture at the Inter & Co Stadium was suspended at 1:06pm local time during the half time break amid thunderstorms and heavy rain in the area, with Benfica leading 1-0. Advertisement Fans were asked to leave their seats and take shelter while play was suspended. The lightening eventually subsided and players returned to the pitch to warm up, before it was confirmed play would resume at 3:20pm local time — two hours and 14 minutes after the game was initially paused. Benfica went on to win 6-0 against their amateur opposition, with Angel Di Maria scoring two penalties, Leandro Barreiro scoring twice and Vangelis Pavlidis and Renato Sanches also getting on the scoresheet. The fixture was the latest match at this summer's tournament to be delayed due to the weather conditions in the United States. Kick off for Wednesday's match between Mamelodi Sundowns and Ulsan HD was pushed back by more than an hour due to thunderstorms in the region, on the same day that the fixture between Red Bull Salzburg and Pachuca was halted for 97 minutes after a severe thunderstorm in Cincinnati. Thursday's game between Palmeiras and Al Ahly was then suspended due to severe weather in New Jersey. Benfica conclude their group stage campaign against Bayern Munich on Tuesday, while Auckland face Boca Juniors.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Benfica 6 Auckland City 0: Lage's patience tested as underdogs dig deep
Benfica recorded their first win of the Club World Cup on Friday, beating Auckland City 6-0 in Orlando. But it wasn't an entirely comfortable ride for the Portuguese side. Auckland, who were beaten 10-0 by Bayern Munich in their first game of the tournament, were much improved on their second outing, frustrating Benfica with a solid defensive structure and an inspired performance from goalkeeper Nathan Garrow. Advertisement After firing 18 shots at the Auckland goal without success, an increasingly-frustrated Benfica finally found a route to goal from the penalty spot in first-half added time. World Cup winner Angel Di Maria converted from 12 yards, sending Garrow the wrong way before calmly passing into the net. The second-half restart was delayed by more than two hours due to heavy rain and thunderstorms, killing any opportunity for Benfica to carry their momentum into the second period. After the lengthy suspension of play, Auckland came out impressively in the second half, looking to get back on level terms. However, their hope was short-lived as striker Vangelis Pavlidis added a second in the 54th minute after an impressive moment of individual skill. Renato Sanches added a third from the bench as the floodgates opened. Defeat means the side from New Zealand are unable to qualify for the knockout stages. The Athletic's Elias Burke analyses the game's key talking points. While Auckland put up a valiant effort in the first half, the chasm in quality between the sides meant the result was inevitable; for Benfica, it was always a question of how many goals they'd score. Given Bayern's comprehensive margin of victory, they may regret not taking more of their chances. With Bayern as the considerable favourite to progress as group winners, the number of goals scored against Auckland may be the decisive factor in whether Benfica or Boca Juniors progress as runners-up. Frustration began to build within the Benfica camp as they struggled to break down the opposition, culminating in head coach Bruno Lage and midfielder Orkun Kokcu having what appeared to be an argument on the sidelines (pictured above) as the latter was substituted on the hour. Even after Barreiro put the result beyond any reasonable doubt with a fourth goal fifteen minutes later, Lage frantically demanded more goals from the sidelines, presumably recognising the importance of goal difference in this group. Should Boca avoid a big defeat to Bayern, Benfica's relatively modest margin of victory may offer some encouragement. For Lage's side, it may mean they go into the final game needing to draw or win against one of the favourites to lift the trophy on July 13. After their 10-0 defeat to Bayern last Sunday, you'd be forgiven for expecting Benfica to cut through Auckland's defence with similar ease — but they were much better prepared to frustrate their opponents at the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando. Auckland are accustomed to being the imposing team and somewhat naively set up in their usual 4-3-3 formation against Bayern Munich, ready to go toe-to-toe with the German champions. Manager Paul Posa learned his lesson against Benfica, switching to 5-2-3, offering goalkeeper Garrow more protection in defence. Advertisement The result will have surprised even the most optimistic Auckland fan. While Benfica frequently got into promising goalscoring positions, Auckland's defence held firm, with Garrow delivering what must have been the most impressive performance of his young career. The 20-year-old made seven saves in the first half, preventing an xG of 0.55 — highlighting the admirable job the outfielders did in limiting Benfica to low-percentage goalscoring opportunities. There was a fair amount of luck involved, too. When Benfica looked set to convert from close range, forces seemed to conspire against them to ensure a shot landed inches wide of Garrow's post. On the odd occasion, Auckland broke out from their half and threatened to launch a counter-attack. Fans must have dared to dream that those forces would somehow work in their favour to score an unlikely first goal in the tournament. However, it wasn't to be. Angel Di Maria calmly converted a penalty on the stroke of half-time, putting Benfica into a 1-0 lead. Given the chasm in quality, one goal was perhaps unassailable for Auckland, whose highlight of the tournament may be frustrating a European giant for so long. For Garrow, it was an exhibition of his talent on the world stage. Given his age and the fact his semi-professional contract expires at the end of the year, sporting directors from around Europe and beyond will undoubtedly be assessing his situation on the hunt for a potential bargain. Auckland City represent the Club World Cup's most unique story. In a tournament packed with European and South American heritage (as well as the financial strength of Saudi Arabia), Auckland City are an amateur club with a squad of part-time players — some of whom are taking annual leave (P.T.O) to play on the biggest stage of their careers. Advertisement They arrive in the United States as minnows — with their 10-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in their first game illustrating just how large the gulf in class is — but back in their home continent of Oceania, they're the giants. They compete in the New Zealand National League (after qualifying through the regional Northern League), the strongest league in the Oceania Football Confederation, as Australia's professional A-League competition is under the Asian equivalent, and are four-time defending champions. They qualified for the Club World Cup by lifting the OFC Champions League, a tournament they have won in 12 of the last 15 seasons. In the previous four years, they have beaten teams from Tahiti, Fiji and Papua New Guinea in the final, a far cry from Bayern, Benfica or Boca Juniors — arguably the most famous clubs of their respective major footballing nations. Still, they're not complete walkovers. Their players returned from the 2014 Club World Cup with bronze medals after beating Liga MX club Cruz Azul in a third-place play-off, though the result in the opening match may rule out any possibility of that happening this time around. Tuesday, June 24: Bayern Munich, Club World Cup group stage (Charlotte), 3pm ET, 8pm UK Tuesday, June 24: Boca Juniors, Club World Cup group stage (Nashville), 3pm ET, 8pm UK You can sign up to DAZN to watch every FIFA Club World Cup game for free
Morocco World
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Morocco World
Benfica vs Auckland City: When, How to Watch Club World Cup Game
Rabat – The FIFA Club World Cup continues with a match between Auckland City and Benfica at 5 pm GMT+1. The game will be played at Exploria Stadium in Orlando. Fans can watch the match live by streaming it on DAZN, which is available for free in most countries, or MBC Masr. Auckland City had a very difficult start to the tournament, suffering a heavy 10-0 loss against Bayern Munich in their opening game. Sinch Auckland City is a smaller club with mostly semi-professional players, so facing the strong Portuguese team Benfica will be an even tougher challenge for them. Benfica is one of Portugal's top teams and reached the Round of 16 in the last UEFA Champions League season. The team includes star players like Angel Di María, Renato Sanches, Nicolas Otamendi, and Alvaro Carreras. In terms of betting predictions, Benfica is the clear favorite and is expected to win by a large margin. It is likely they will win by four or more goals, according to prediction websites. While the match is expected to have several goals, the total is predicted to stay under 6.5 goals, as Benfica may choose to pace themselves ahead of more challenging games later in the tournament. Benfica's Vangelis Pavlidis is a strong pick to score at any time during the game. The striker had a great recent season, scoring 29 goals, and is expected to continue that form. Overall prediction: Benefica v Auckland 4-1 Tags: 2025 FIFA Club World Cup
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
PHOTO COLLECTION: Best of Club World Cup Soccer Week 1
Benfica's Renato Sanches, center, fights for the ball with Boca Juniors' Carlos Palacios, right, and Alan Velasco (20) during the Club World Cup group C soccer match between Boca Juniors and Benfica in Miami Gardens, Fla., Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
