Boca Juniors Benfica Report Club World Cup

Benfica drew (2-2) against Boca Juniors on matchday 1 of Group C of the Club World Cup at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami late on Monday night, June 16. Di María and Otamendi scored the goals for the Eagles, who recovered from a two-goal deficit.

In Benfica's first match at the Club World Cup 2025, against Boca Juniors, coach Bruno Lage presented the following starting eleven: Trubin, Dahl, Otamendi, António Silva, Álvaro Carreras, Florentino, Renato Sanches, Aursnes, Di María, Bruma and Pavlidis.

Merentiel, with a deflection in the box from Blanco's pass in the 21st minute, opened the scoring (1-0), countering the Reds' dominance until then. In the 27th minute, following a corner kick, Battaglia headed in Figal's pass to extend the Argentinian lead (2-0).

In the 43rd minute, Di María tried an olimpico goal, and the No. 25 swung in another corner. Following the corner, Otamendi was hit in the area by Carlos Palácios. Alerted by the VAR, Mexican referee César Ramos consulted the images and awarded a penalty.

On the conversion, at 45'+3', Di María deceived Marchesín with a classy strike, placing the ball on the left-hand side, with the goalkeeper diving to his right (2-1). Benfica still laid siege to the opposing penalty area until the break, but without the desired effect.

During a second half in which little was played, Belotti was shown a red card in the 72nd minute for touching Costa's head after disputing the ball. Initially, the referee warned the Eagles striker with a yellow card, but on the advice of the VAR, the referee saw the images and changed the penalty to a red card.

The eagles continued to press the opposition's last line, and Otamendi's brilliant header from Kökcü's corner made it 2-2. What a moment!

In the 86th minute, Álvaro Carreras shot low into the area with his right foot, only for Marchesín to save. In the 90th minute, Figal was sent off for a violent tackle on Florentino, who was then replaced by Barreiro.

The Eagles now have one point, and in the second round of Group C they face New Zealanders Auckland City at the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, at 12 noon local time (5 pm continental time).