Victory in training match

15 MINUTES

Benfica's professional football team continued their preparations for the 2025 Club World Cup with a three 35-minute halves training match against Tampa Bay Rowdies on Wednesday, June 11. The Eagles won 7-0.

At the Waters Sportplex in Tampa, Florida, Benfica's squad was reinforced by the presence of Prestianni, who returned from his commitments with the Argentine Under-20 national team.

Captain Otamendi has also joined the squad after representing Argentina last night in their CONMEBOL qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup against Colombia, in which he was honored for his 140 appearances for the Albiceleste.

So, for the match against Tampa Bay Rowdies, from the USL Championship – a kind of second tier of American soccer that serves as a development league for MLS teams – coach Bruno Lage chose the following starting eleven: André Gomes, Álvaro Carreras, Aursnes, Di María, Belotti, Bruma, Tiago Gouveia, Florentino, Gonçalo Oliveira, Joshua Wynder, and Renato Sanches.

During the first 15 minutes of the training match, which was open to the media (see video above), Belotti (1-0) and Di María (2-0) scored the first two goals. Then, the Argentine number 11 scored again (3-0), and the remaining goals for the Reds were scored by Joshua Wynder (4-0), Rafael Luís (5-0), Prestianni (6-0), and João Rego (7-0).

Benfica's debut in the 2025 Club World Cup is scheduled for 11:00 pm (Mainland Portugal time) on June 16 (Monday) against Boca Juniors at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

The Reds are in Group C of the competition, alongside Boca Juniors, Auckland City, and Bayern Munich.