The first of four games at TQL Stadium for the 2025 Club World Cup was held between one of the tournament favorites, Bayern Munich, and amateur side Auckland City FC (ACFC).
Bayern is one of the most successful clubs in the world and the current champions of the Bundesliga, under first year Belgian head coach Vincent Kompany. They qualified for the tournament due to their strong performance in UEFA competitions over the last four years. More details on Bayern can be found at Club World Cup Profile: Bayern Munich.
ACFC have been very successful in the New Zealand league, which is known as the National League System, winning it eight times in their 17 years of existence. They qualified for the tournament because they are the current champions of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Champions League. More details can be found at Club World Cup Profile: Auckland City FC.
The ambiance and the vibe heading towards the stadium and inside of it was of a different kind. You could feel the international flavor; the German language, while not widespread, being spoken amongst the crowd and the sea of red in the stands, especially in The Bailey. As Bayern fans love to chant, Mia san mia!
First Half
Bayern fielded a luxury lineup with the names of Neuer, Müller, Kimmich, and Kane being the more prominent ones. This was a signal from Kompany that despite their overwhelming favorite status against ACFC, they were taking the match seriously. Not only did the lineup reflect the team’s ambition, but their tactics were straight out of their system of play in the just completed league season.
Bayern kicked off the game and their lines immediately moved aggressively up the field, with Neuer coming up halfway between his box and midfield. While there was some rust given their last competitive game was on May 17th, the quality gap in tactics, skills, and speed quickly overwhelmed ACFC. The Bavarians attacked from the wings, from the middle, and in the air. Their press was high and constant, preventing ACFC from any chance of mounting a counterattack.
The first goal came quickly. In the sixth minute, a long corner kick by Bayern was headed back into the center of the box by newcomer Johnathan Tah and turned in by French National Team member Kingsley Coman. Bayern kept pressing and attacking from all sides and 12 minutes later, Sacha Boey scored Bayern’s second goal on a play from the middle and into the box. Two minutes later as ACFC was trying to clear the ball, Bayern’s press intercepted, played through ACFC’s right side, crossed into the box and Michael Olise (another French National Team player) finished the play into the net. At that moment the outcome of the match was a foregone conclusion. But Bayern was not content. One minute later, on a vertical pass slicing through the backline of ACFC, Coman again scored, making it 4-0 in favor of the Bavarians.
Twenty-four minutes would pass with no score and in the 45th minute a cross from the right wing found icon Thomas Müller in front of the ACFC goalkeeper and easily slotted in the fifth goal. Some people in the stands were asking for the referee to end the first half as it was now obvious the large gap between the two teams. However, there were still five added minutes of play. And Bayern took advantage of that time with Olise making a run from the right wing, parallel to the box and kicking a banger that the keeper had no chance to stop. It was 6-0 at the end of the half.
Second Half
At the half, Kompany made two changes. Michael Olise was replaced by Lennart Karl, a 17-year-old promising German attacking midfielder and winger who has already represented his country in several youth competitions. Also, Kingsley Coman was replaced by veteran German Serge Gnabry who is also on the German national team. ACFC made no changes.
The pace of Bayern slowed down somewhat but they were still attacking from all sides. ACFC keeper, Conor Tracey, made several strong stops that seemed to hold the Bayern tidal wave at bay. In the 67th minute, Jamal Musiala, another German who also plays with their national team and who had come in for Harry Kane at minute 61, scored from just outside the box after a beautiful combination play from his left-wing teammates. The score was now 7-0. Just six minutes later, Musiala was brought down in the box for a penalty kick against ACFC and Tracey dove right, Musiala calmly kicked it left, 8-0.
In the 80th minute, ACFC has its lone shot on goal, an attempt from outside the box which Neuer easily stopped. In the 84th minute, ACFC showed its naivete when Tracey attempted a pass to his center back right outside the box, which was intercepted by Musiala who cooly scored and completed his hat trick. The score board now read 9-0. It was obvious from the stands that the Bayern players, while still being professional and doing their jobs, were no longer celebrating their overwhelming superiority. The final goal came from a play that originated from a cross on the left side that was then mishandled by Tracey and resulted in Müller scoring his second goal of the game.
Post Game
There were some in the stands who were questioning why Bayern kept scoring and why they didn’t relax and just control the game. But Vincent Kompany stated in his post-game press conference that goal differential might play a role in determining who qualifies in first place for the next round. When asked about the atmosphere in the stadium he said “you could straightaway feel there was an American Bavarian German connection here”.
ACFC striker Angus Kilkolly said “It is an unbelievable challenge to play against one of the world’s best teams, and I think as the goals went in, obviously you get down on yourself and that gets more challenging. We did try our very hardest to keep them out.”
Both teams will play their next fixtures on Friday with Bayern facing legendary Argentina squad Boca Juniors, who currently sit in second place in the Argentine Primera Division, while Auckland will face Benfica, who finished second in the Portuguese Primera Liga.
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
Bayern Munich: 6-4-10
Auckland City FC: 0-0-0
Bayern Munich: Kingsley Coman – 6′, 21′; Sacha Boey – 18′; Michael Olise – 20′, 45’+3′; Thomas Müller – 45′, 89′; Jamal Musiala – 67′, 73′ Pen, 84′
Auckland City FC: None
Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer, Josip Stanisic (Adam Aznou 82’), Jonathan Tah, Raphaël Guerreiro (Dayot Upamecano 61’), Sacha Boey, Thomas Müller, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Joshua Kimmich, Harry Kane (Jamal Musiala 61’), Kingsley Coman (Serge Gnabry 45’), Michael Olise (Lennart Karl 45’)
Head Coach: Vincent Kompany
Auckland City: Conor Tracey, Michael Den Heijer (Alfred Rogers 82’), Nikko Boxall, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Lobo (Jerson Lagos 66’), Regont Murati, Mario Ilich, Gerard Gibert (Tong Zhou 66’), Dylan Manickum (Angus Kilkolly 71’), David Yoo (Ryan de Vries 71’), Myer Bevan
Head Coach: Ivan Vicelich
STATS SUMMARY: Bayern/ACFC
Shots: 31 / 1
Shots on Goal: 17 / 1
Saves: 1 / 7
Corner Kicks: 10 / 2
Fouls: 11 / 4
Possession: 71.4% / 28.6%
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
None
OFFICIALS
Referee: Issa Sy (Senegal)
Ast. Referees: Djibril Camara (Senegal) Mouha Bangoura (Senegal)
Fourth Official: Ibrahim Mutaz (Lybia)
VAR: Mahmoud Ashour (Egypt)
AVAR: Nicolás Gallo Barragán (Colombia)
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