Michael Olise mentioned he didn’t feel “bad” for Auckland City after Bayern Munich handed them a staggering 10-0 loss at the FIFA Club World Cup. I mean, how did it even get to that point? And could we see more lopsided matches in this tournament down the line? Right now, Auckland City is sitting at 5,074th in the Opta Power Rankings, while Bayern is comfortably in sixth place, flaunting their status as one of Europe’s top teams.
So, here we have the FIFA Club World Cup, featuring Bayern Munich — a powerhouse with 34 Bundesliga titles and six UEFA Champions League trophies — going up against Auckland City, a part-time squad from New Zealand. Their lineup even had a primary school teacher and a delivery driver. Honestly, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion how this one would end.
In the past, such a result would’ve been pretty unlikely. Why, you ask? Well, previously, there were only seven teams in the Club World Cup. The big European teams typically joined in at the semi-finals, which meant Auckland City usually didn’t even make it that far. Just to give you an example, last year they lost 3-0 to Al Ittihad in the first round, two rounds before they could’ve faced off against Manchester City. But now, with the tournament expanded to 32 teams, clubs from all over the world can cross paths at any point.
Auckland City might be in for more tough matches, especially since they’re also grouped with Boca Juniors and Benfica. But here’s the thing — despite being massive underdogs, Auckland City striker Angus Kilkolly, who even took unpaid leave from his job to be part of this four-week journey, called it a “dream group” for his team. He said, “For us to experience playing against those teams is a dream come true. Being on the same pitch is a bit surreal.” He went on to mention the challenge of taking four weeks off work without pay but insisted it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance. “Playing at the World Cup gives us a taste of competing on a world stage, feeling like professional footballers, even if we aren’t.”
Now, looking ahead, there's a solid foundation from last season, and they’re still able to let young players shine. It’s important for their growth moving into future rounds. Speaking of highlights, substitute Musiala had a standout performance, curling a beautiful shot into the corner in the 67th minute, scoring a penalty six minutes later, and capitalizing on a defensive mistake for his third goal in the 84th. Mueller rounded off the scoring with his second in the 89th minute, making this the biggest win in the history of men’s Club World Cups.
Auckland, who have claimed the OFC Champions League title 13 times, will be facing Benfica on Friday, while Bayern goes up against Argentine giants Boca Juniors on the same day in Group C. “That next match against Boca Juniors is going to be the highlight of the group stage,” Kompany said. “You’ve got a traditional club from Europe battling it out with a traditional club from South America. Honestly, even if I wasn’t the Bayern coach, I’d be there.”
Now, nobody wanted that kind of result, and the players are definitely feeling it. But the goal is to find pride in their effort. Vicelich shared that at halftime, they encouraged the players to keep pushing. “They really took that on. It’s a dream for our guys coming from an amateur background to play in this kind of environment.”
Vicelich also emphasized that they didn’t give Bayern too much credit. “We knew Bayern Munich could play exceptionally well against anyone, and we were prepared for that. We just tried to do our best without the ball.”
Now, it’s all about recovering, learning from this experience, and lifting spirits in the days to come. Auckland only managed one shot on goal during the match. Their next challenge is against Benfica from Portugal on Saturday, followed by a final group game against Boca Juniors from Argentina.
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