Boca Juniors were held to a 1-1 draw by Auckland City and failed to reach the knockout stage of the Club World Cup on Tuesday in steamy Nashville, Tennessee, where the match was suspended for nearly 50 minutes due to stormy weather.
Boca came into the game needing both a convincing win against already-eliminated Auckland City to overturn a seven-goal difference with Benfica and for the Portuguese club to lose to German champions Bayern Munich in the other Group C fixture.
Auckland City had just drawn level shortly after the break when lightning in the area forced players off the field. By the time play resumed, Benfica had secured a 1-0 win to qualify top of Group C and reach the last 16 along with Bayern.
Boca went ahead in the 26th minute when Lautaro Di Lollo received a well-delivered corner and headed it against the post before the ball bounced off Auckland City goalkeeper Nathan Garrow’s arm and into the net for an own goal.
Auckland scored their first goal of the tournament in the 52nd minute when Christian Gray sent a header inside the right post and past an outstretched Agustín Marchesín moments before play was suspended.
Boca thought they had pulled back in front shortly after the restart but a VAR decision overturned Miguel Merentiel’s goal due to a handball by teammate Kevin Zenón.
Boca finished third in the group with two points, one more than Auckland City who also exited the Club World Cup.
Fifa President Gianni Infantino was among those at the game where temperatures at kickoff were around 96F/35.5C.
The steamy conditions did little to dampen the spirits of the passionate Boca supporters who spent the duration of the match singing to the beat of drums, including during the weather delay when many refused calls to head to the concourse.
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Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
Benfica’s Andreas Schjelderup struck in the first half to seal a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in sweltering heat on Tuesday, sending the Portuguese side to the top of Group C at the Club World Cup.
After securing their first-ever victory over Bayern, Benfica will face Chelsea or Esperance de Tunis in the last 16. Bayern, finishing second, are set to face Group D leaders Flamengo.
Schjelderup broke the deadlock after 13 minutes with a first-time finish off Fredrik Aursnes’ low cross from the right, capitalising on a lapse in Bayern’s backline.
With Bayern already assured of a place in the next round, their rotated lineup lacked urgency. The Germans improved after the break and Joshua Kimmich thought he had equalised, but his effort was ruled out for Harry Kane being offside.
