It’s been an exciting opening round of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, with Latin American sides shining in the early phase of the tournament and many matches seeing large crowds in the United States. On Friday, Chelsea vs Flamengo and Bayern Munich vs Boca Juniors are two of the most anticipated matches of the entire tournament. Here is your look at all the action.
Benfica vs Auckland City
(Friday in Orlando)
Auckland City’s part-time, amateur team is living the greatest moment of their sporting lives, but the reality is they cannot compete in this tournament. Bayern Munich beat them 10-0, and after a 2-2 draw with Boca, Benfica must win, and win by a lot to aid their chances at qualification for the knockout phase. There’s little to say about this matchup other than that scoring records may be set, and the question is whether Auckland City scores a goal this tournament. Prediction: Benfica 8 Auckland City 0
Bayern Munich vs Boca Juniors
(Friday in Miami)
Bayern Munich’s training run against Auckland City doesn’t say much about how they will do in this tournament, Benfica’s nip and tuck clash with Boca was far more compelling football however. Boca scored twice (21st and 27th minute), but then they had to go battlestations to avoid defeat. Ander Herrera was shown a red card at the halfway mark, and playing with 10 men until the 72nd minute, Boca were just hanging on. They would concede a late second half goal but still finish with a draw 2-2. The Boca fans have been fantastic and have taken over Miami for this tournament, this is a home atmosphere for one of Argentine’s two most historic clubs, but Bayern Munich are still a quality side, and that quality should be enough. Prediction: Bayern Munich 3 Boca Juniors 1
Flamengo vs Chelsea
(Friday in Philadelphia)
Former Chelsea man Jorginho debuted with an assist in the Club World Cup as Flamengo got the job done against an Esperance side where the quality gap was evident. Brazil’s biggest club scored twice, and outshot Esperance 11 to 6. They will be buzzing with confidence ahead of the clash with Chelsea. The Conference League Champions scored twice and defeated LAFC 2-0, but LAFC were quite competitive in the matchup given expectations. Liam Delap was great on debut for the blues and they will look to elevate their performance in game 2 against a stronger opponent. Flamengo have to be taken seriously here, and the trend of South American sides punching above expectations should continue. Flamengo will need to be defensively sound but I believe they can manage a draw. Prediction: 1-1 Draw
LAFC vs Esperance de Tunis
(Friday in Nashville)
To have any chance of advancing from the group, a draw isn’t enough, the MLS side LAFC or the Tunisian side Esperance have to win. LAFC are in good form, but Esperance and their fans have to be feeling somewhat confident after they held Flamengo to a competitive game. This isn’t the easiest match to predict, as the range in form that these teams display is significant, however LAFC are the ones I expect to suffer the letdown here. Prediction: Esperance 2 LAFC 1
Main Photo Credit: IMAGO: Flamengo, Audax Rio, Lorran
