Auckland City FC goalkeeper Nathan Garrow (R) clears against Benfica. Photo: photosport
Auckland City's slim hopes of advancing through the pool stage at the FIFA Club World Cup are over after a second humbling defeat, trounced 6-0 by Benfica.
The Navy Blues capitulated in the second half after trailing the Portuguese side 1-0 at the interval, in a performance which followed up a 10-0 thrashing from German giants Bayern Munich in their opener.
The results mean Auckland City have no chance of qualifying for the knockout stage, and will only be playing for pride in their final match against Argentina side Boca Juniors on Wednesday morning (NZT).
This morning's match featured a delay of more than two hours at halftime due to a heavy storm, at which stage Auckland trailed 1-0.
At that stage they had defended more stubbornly than the rout against Bayern Munich, led by a series of quality saves by goalkeeper Nathan Garrow.
SL Benfica's Angel Di Maria and Auckland City FC's Haris Zeb. FIFA Club World Cup USA 2025, S.L. Benfica v Auckland City FC, Inter & Co Stadium, Orlando, Friday 20 June 2025. Photo: Shane Wenzlick / www.phototek.nz Photo: photosport
The dam burst on the stroke of halftime when former Manchester United star Angel di Maria converted from the penalty spot.
The lengthy halftime delay may have affected semi-professional Auckland's focus as Benfica's mountain of attacking raids started to find creaks in the defence.
Vangelis Pavlidis and Renato Sanches added goals soon after the break, before Leandro Barreiro scored in the 76th and 78th minutes and Di Maria converted a second goal from the spot to round out the scoring.
- RNZ / Reuters
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