This Group C encounter of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will be played between Portuguese giants Benfica and New Zealand representatives Auckland City on June 20 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando.
Here are our preview and prediction for the game.
FIFA Club World Cup 2025 | Group C: SL Benfica vs Auckland City FC | 21:30 IST, June 20
Benfica stole a point from Boca Juniors on matchday one, while their Kiwi counterparts suffered a record-breaking loss and looked well out of their depth.
After trailing their Argentinian opponents by two goals just before the break, Benfica rallied back in their first Club World Cup fixture, with their two experienced Argentinians saving the day. Facing compatriots Boca Juniors, Ángel Di María cut his side’s deficit in half with a penalty in first-half stoppage time, before Nicolás Otamendi scored the equaliser in the 84th minute; a boyhood fan of Boca’s arch-rivals River Plate, the veteran defender enjoyed celebrating his goal in front of the opposition fans.
Although Benfica ended the match with ten men at Hard Rock Stadium, following Andrea Belotti’s reckless red card, Boca had players sent off too as the points were ultimately shared.
Looking to advance from this tightly contested Group C, Bruno Lage’s men are certainly potent in attack. In fact, the only team to prevent them from scoring so far this calendar year was Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League all the way back in March. So, they should be confident of ending a rare four-game winless streak by putting several goals past this brave but brittle Auckland City side.
Oceania’s elite suffered the heaviest defeat in Club World Cup history in their tournament opener — losing 10–0 to German giants Bayern Munich. The Kiwis were ruthlessly picked apart by the six-time European champions in Cincinnati, conceding six times during the first half itself.
The Navy Blues have now lost eight straight matches at FIFA’s top club competition since their remarkable third-placed finish in 2014. In last year’s Intercontinental Cup, Auckland were thrashed 6–2 by Al Ain in the first round, thus getting drawn in such a strong group was always going to be a step too far for the reigning OFC Champions League winners.
This Ivan Vicelich–led side may be Oceania’s best, given they hold the continental record of 13 OFC Champions League crowns in less than two decades, but they’re clearly mismatched against the European sides in their group. Having learned from their drubbing against Bayern Munich, it will surely be a case of limiting the damage when they take to the field on Friday.
Looking ahead to this fixture, Benfica are the clear favourites. However, as goal difference could prove crucial in determining who finishes inside Group C’s top two, Benfica cannot afford to miss this chance to improve their goal difference ahead of their final group fixture against Bayern.
Score Prediction: Benfica 6–1 Auckland City
Venue: Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando
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