On Friday, June 20, 2025, at Orlando’s Inter&Co Stadium, two very different footballing realities will collide.
Benfica, one of Portugal’s most storied clubs, will face Auckland City, a semi-professional side from New Zealand, in a Group C showdown that encapsulates the strange contrasts of the expanded FIFA Club World Cup format.
For fans wondering how to watch the FIFA Club World Cup, streaming service DAZN holds the broadcast rights in several regions.
After Bayern: Picking Up the Pieces in Auckland
Let’s not sugarcoat it—Auckland City were demolished 10-0 by Bayern Munich in their opening match.
It wasn’t just a heavy defeat; it was a historic one, smashing the record for the largest margin of victory in Club World Cup history. Bayern rained down 31 shots, 17 of them on target, to Auckland’s single attempt, while hoarding 71% possession. It was footballing reality laid bare.
Auckland, sitting a mind-boggling 5,074th in the Opta Power Rankings—over 2,500 spots behind even a club like York City—were always going to be out of their depth. Their squad, is made up of men who juggle football with regular day jobs: a primary school teacher, an insurance broker, a barber. Players had to take annual leave to attend, and Nathan Lobo even sat a university exam from his hotel room mid-tournament.
And yet, through the carnage, they never gave in. Not one yellow card. No diving. No spoiling tactics. Just pure effort and dignity. “Proud to be here, no matter the result,” said one player. As goal after goal flew past them, Auckland kept running, kept trying. Their humility and composure in the face of such humiliation earned them widespread respect.
But will it matter now, as they face another European heavyweight? Paul Posa returns to the dugout for this one, replacing interim coach Ivan Vicelich, who admitted the Bayern match simply showed the “reality of football”. And reality, for Auckland, has been bleak in this competition for nearly a decade: six straight CWC losses, a 21-1 combined scoreline, and no goals since 2016.
Striker Myer Bevan, one of the few players with genuine attacking pedigree, says it’s time to move forward. But moving forward might mean bracing for more pain, hoping for space behind a high Benfica line, and praying to avoid another record-breaking rout.
Fans looking ahead to the next game for Benfica can check fixtures through official tournament channels or directly via DAZN’s match schedule.
Benfica’s Test of Character
While Auckland were being taught a cruel lesson in the limits of heart, Benfica were brawling with Boca Juniors, clawing back from a 2-0 deficit to draw 2-2 in one of the most gripping matches of the tournament so far. This wasn’t football as art—it was football as a street fight. Blood, bruises, and brilliance, all crammed into 90 minutes.
Ángel Di María converted a penalty just before the break—won by captain Nicolás Otamendi—to give Benfica hope. Then, in the 84th minute, Otamendi rose to the moment again, nodding home the equalizer from a corner. In between, three red cards flew, tempers boiled, and a Boca bench member lost his head.
The draw extended Benfica’s winless streak to four games, a skid stretching back to April 2023, when they surrendered both domestic titles to arch-rivals Sporting CP. Yet, despite their stutter in silverware, this team remains deadly in front of goal—scoring in 31 of 32 matches in 2025, and racking up 84 goals in the Primeira Liga.
Key figures like Di María, Otamendi, and striker Vangelis Pavlidis ooze Champions League experience. But they’ll be without Andrea Belotti, suspended after his red card against Boca.
Fans asking where is Benfica based should know the club hails from Lisbon, Portugal—home to one of Europe’s most passionate football cultures.
If you’re considering attending a match in person, Benfica tickets for international fixtures are typically available through their website or tournament partners.
The Stakes: Not Just Victory, But Margin
This isn’t just a must-win for Benfica—it’s a must-thrash. With goal difference looming large in the battle for Group C’s second spot, the Lisbon side needs to “fill their boots” against Auckland. Ranked over 5,000 places ahead of their opponents in Opta’s club rankings, Benfica are expected to unleash a siege.
Expect wave after wave of attack—full-backs like Samuel Dahl, once a winger himself, pushing high and feeding crosses. Coach Bruno Lage won’t ease off the throttle. This is about padding the stats, restoring confidence, and laying down a marker for the rest of the tournament.
For Auckland, the goal is simple: survive. Perhaps even sneak in a historic goal—Bevan, after all, scored in both the OFC Champions League semi and final. But fatigue, Florida’s heat, and psychological scars from Bayern will weigh heavily.
Still, if they show the same courage and composure they did in the 10-0 loss, they might not win—but they’ll walk off with heads held high. As with their last outing, this game won’t just be about who scores more, but about who walks away with dignity intact.
If you’re new to the platform and unsure what is DAZN, it’s a subscription-based sports streaming service providing global coverage of football, boxing, and more.
You can learn how to watch DAZN via smart TVs, mobile apps, or online, and for those no longer needing the service, it’s simple to cancel DAZN through their account settings online.
Benfica chase goal difference. Auckland chase redemption.
It may be a mismatch on paper, but in spirit, this is everything the Club World Cup represents—for better or worse.
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