The Briefing: How did players cope with heat? Has Kompany got a Musiala deputy?
Follow reaction after Bayern Munich were handed their first defeat of the tournament and dropped into second in Group C Getty Images
Benfica have finished top of Group C at the Club World Cup after beating Bayern Munich 1-0 in Charlotte.
The German champions have had to settle for second place in the group after Andreas Schjelderup scored the game's only goal in the 13th minute. Bayern pushed for an equaliser in a much-improved second half but Benfica stood firm defensively, with goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin making a string of big saves.
In the other game, Auckland City stunned Boca Juniors with a 1-1 draw to pick up their first point of the tournament. Connections: Sports Edition Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms
Benfica sealed their place in the Club World Cup knockouts and topped Group C with a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich, who finished as runners-up.
The heat in Charlotte was intense, around the 40C (104F) mark, as it has been in many early kick-offs through the tournament.
Both teams go through to the knockouts and will find out their opponents when Group D finishes later today.
Below, The Athletic 's Seb Stafford-Bloor and Mark Carey break down the action from Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte.
GO FURTHER
Benfica 1 Bayern Munich 0 – How did players cope with heat? Has Kompany got a Musiala deputy? Getty Images
That's it!
Benfica win and top Group C ahead of Bayern after beating the German side!
What effect that has on the knockout stages, we'll find out later today... Getty Images
90+9' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
Great chance for Harry Kane from Olise's corner but the ball hits his shoulder and skips wide!
Benfica got a (soft) free kick anyway before a slight push from Kane on Otamendi.
And...
90+8' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
Good from Benfica subs Gouveia and Bajrami.
Gouveia, on the right touchline, holds the ball up really well and wins the throw from Thomas Muller after tricking past the veteran.
Then Bajrami slides in to put a cross behind for a corner. Getty Images
90+7' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
...but they're somehow still hanging on.
5-4-1 formation, almost everyone behind the ball, they're super deep and narrow, clinging on to their narrow lead.
Bayern desperately trying to make something happen but running out of time.
A minute or so left!
Progress in the game over in Nashville — we have a restart time of ten minutes' time.
The game was suspended with the score locked at 1-1 between Boca Juniors and Auckland City due to inclement weather.
The players are going to have a bit of a warm up before resuming play, though with the Bayern Munich-Benfica game very nearly finished and Boca heading out, there hardly seems much point in playing on now.
90+4' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
Fine cross Olise, Muller poised, Aursnes behind. Corner.
90+2' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
Trubin, so good today, plucks Guerreiro's high cross out of the sky.
Man of the match so far.
Can he hang on to the clean sheet he so deserves? Getty Images
90+1' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
Eight minutes of added time.
Lots of injuries, lots of subs, lots of time for Bayern still to get an equaliser. Getty Images
90' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
Hilarious from sub Tiago Gouveia.
First it's brilliant 'elastico'/flip-flop skill, lovely footwork, to escape a Bayern defender.
He carries the ball a fair way, and out of puff, tries to knock it past Stanisic too, but the Croatian gets his body in the way.
Gouveia puts hands on Stanisic, who goes down. Soft, but a foul. Then Gouveia absolutely wellies the ball away.
Clearest yellow you'll ever see. Getty Images
88' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
WOW! Anatoliy Trubin saves from Leroy Sane with a one on one again!
Brilliant play from Harry Kane, who controls with one touch, turns with another, and plays an absolutely sumptuous through ball with his third.
Sane clean through, he tries to chip Trubin but the Ukrainian flings a left arm out to block it! Getty Images
87' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
Benfica's Angel Di Maria and Vangelis Pavlidis have emptied the tank and walk off for Joao Rego and Tiago Gouveia. Getty Images
86' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
Harry Kane inside the box... Nicolas Otamendi is calm and patient (unlike him!) as he slowly and gradually forces the England captain wide and then back.
Kane has played in six matches against Otamendi in his career... and not scored. Yet.
Then Sane gets a shot inside the box but lashes it over.
84' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
Antonio Silva has been really impressive for Benfica.
Konrad Laimer swings in a cross from the right, Harry Kane is poised to nod it home, only for Antonio Silva to get his head in the way and divert it out for a corner.
Brilliant timing.
82' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
Haha, Orkun Kokcu picks up the ball, sees Manuel Neuer off his line, and slams forward an extremely ambitious shot from miles and miles out.
It dribbles through to Neuer.
81' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
Harry Kane is frustrated after being scythed down, and the referee sprints in to squash any potential handbags.
Then Benfica subs on the sidelines are up in arms as Tah outmuscles Pavlidis, before Olise is clattered from behind.
Both teams getting a bit tetchy. Getty Images
Apart from the dangers of the weather — both storms and sweltering temperatures alike — for fans and players, the weather breaks pose a different challenge for FIFA ahead of next year's World Cup.
The whole point of the final games of a group kicking off at the same time is so the teams do not know what is happening in the other fixture.
It adds jeopardy should multiple teams be chasing a place in the knockouts, but also stops teams from sitting back to get mutually beneficial results.
A lengthy weather delay in games disrupts that.
78' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
To be fair to Renato Sanches, he has succumbed to the heat and goes off.
Defender Adrian Bajrami onto the pitch in his place.
I think that makes it a back five with wing-backs. Getty Images
77' Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich
A brief pause in play as Renato Sanches receives some medical treatment on the pitch.
Bayern aren't happy, feeling he is time-wasting.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Man City's Club World Cup windfall could lead to further spending - but Liverpool shouldn't care
This summer's Club World Cup has, predictably, not been much of a hit in the UK. There is Premier League representation at the tournament in Chelsea and Manchester City, but truth be told, the tournament has failed to capture the imagination of supporters. The Premier League - won by Liverpool last season, by the way - and Champions League continue to be the two elite competitions for English clubs. Advertisement Perhaps fans are suffering from football fatigue, or perhaps it's because of the kickoff times, but whichever way you look at it — this has not been the tournament that Gianni Infantino was clearly hoping it would be. Even the manager of one of the best teams in the world, Pep Guardiola, admitted that the winner will likely be forgotten fairly quickly. READ MORE: Rio Ferdinand's Premier League prediction says everything about Arne Slot's Liverpool READ MORE: Liverpool chairman reveals how close Florian Wirtz transfer came to collapsing - 'There was a point' 'Well, now we're here, we want to do well. I don't know," Guardiola said when asked how invested he is in winning the Club World Cup. 'Maybe after two or three days at the end of the tournament it'll be forgotten.' Advertisement The tournament's main appeal, clearly, is the lucrative prize money on offer, with a total of $1 billion on offer. City has already made a whopping $51 million, comprised mainly of a substantial appearance fee, as well as $2 million for each group-stage win, over Wydad, Al Ain, and Juventus. Those wins secured City's place in the last 16 of the competition, and qualification for the last 16 was enough to secure another $7.5 million in prize money. If Guardiola's men go on to win the competition, the club will bank another $32.5 million, taking the club's winnings to more than $80 million. Advertisement That is all well and good from a financial perspective, but the tournament is far from ideal preparation for the 2025-26 Premier League season. City is coming off the back of its worst season in almost a decade, and storming around dodgy astroturf fields in sweltering heat is unlikely to get the players in prime shape to reclaim their crown from Liverpool. Meanwhile, Liverpool's players are deep into their summer vacations as Mohamed Salah and Co enjoy some rest and relaxation ahead of their title defense. Mohamed Salah doesn't seem too fussed about missing out on the Club World Cup -Credit:X/@MoSalah Liverpool's pre-season gets under way on July 7 — six weeks on from the title parade — and that means that City's players could still be in Club World Cup action when the Reds play their first pre-season game. Advertisement The semi-finals of the Club World Cup take place on July 8 and July 9, with the final kicking off at 8pm BST on July 13 — five hours after Liverpool faces Preston in its pre-season opener at Deepdale. So, regardless of the lucrative sums that City is pulling in, there is no chance that Liverpool would choose to swap positions with its biggest rival right now.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wings' Paige Bueckers makes WNBA history with performance vs. Fever
The post Wings' Paige Bueckers makes WNBA history with performance vs. Fever appeared first on ClutchPoints. Paige Bueckers made incredible WNBA history during Friday's matchup between the Dallas Wings and Indiana Fever. Advertisement In 36 minutes of action, Bueckers lit up the nets against the Fever's defense. She put up a stat line of 27 points, six assists, two steals, two blocks, and a rebound. She shot 9-of-18 from the field, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Her efforts helped her set a new WNBA record, per Polymarket Hoops. She became the first player to have a stat line of 25 or more points, five or more assists, two or more steals, two or more blocks, and zero turnovers. How Paige Bueckers, Wings played against Fever Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Despite Paige Bueckers' historic night, it wasn't enough as the Wings suffered a 94-86 loss to the Fever at home. Advertisement Despite missing Caitlin Clark due to injury, the Fever jumped out to a 33-13 lead and never looked back. Even though the Wings cut the deficit to single digits as time went on, they were unable to recover from their slow start. Indiana was highly effective with its shot selection, making 59.3% of their total attempts. This is in significant contrast to the 42.6% shot accuracy from Dallas' end. Rebounding also played a role as the Fever beat the Wings 32-23 in that area. Three players scored in double-digits on Dallas' behalf, including Bueckers. Arike Ogunbowale finished with 15 points, a rebound, an assist, a steal, and a block. She shot 5-of-12 overall, including 1-of-4 from downtown, and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Aziaha James came next with 14 points and two assists, Myisha Hines-Allen had nine points and three assists, while NaLyssa Smith and Li Yueru provided seven points each. Dallas fell to a 4-13 record on the season, remaining at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They are 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Sparks and four games behind the Las Vegas Aces. The Wings will look to bounce back in their next matchup, remaining at home. They host the Washington Mystics on June 28 at 8 p.m. ET. Related: Wings' Paige Bueckers reveals how Kyrie Irving inspired 'unguardable' motivation Related: Paige Bueckers reacts to Caitlin Clark missing Fever-Wings game with injury
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Will the NFC East finally have a repeat division winner?
Knowledgeable Commanders fans know the statistic: It's been since 2004 that an NFC East team has repeated as divisional champion. Yes, it was the Eagles; in fact, it was the last of Philadelphia's four consecutive NFC East titles. Strange as it sounds, it's true, no NFC East team has repeated since. Advertisement Kevin Sheehan of Team 980 discussed the phenomenon on Friday. Sheehan pointed out that four writers covering the four NFC East teams had a dialogue/story this week discussing the NFC East in 2025. John Keim, Washington's ESPN beat reporter, predicted that the Eagles will break the string and win the division. Keim basically said, How can you go against the Eagles after the season they had last year? Keim did point out that the Commanders do have the quarterback to threaten the Eagles, but remaining objective, had to admit what we all know is the major question mark for Washington in 2025. Will their defense make a large enough jump to challenge the Eagles for the division title in 2025? Sheehan cautioned Commanders fans not to overlook the fact that the Cowboys do have good offensive talent in quarterback Dak Prescott, receiver CeeDee Lamb, and, now this offseason, they added receiver George Pickens. The best Cowboy is Micah Parsons, and they drafted a highly regarded pass rusher and signed former Commanders edge rusher Dante Fowler. The Giants will be very strong on the defensive line. Their defense has been good, and they added Abdul Carter (EDGE) in the draft. Can Russell Wilson bring them steady play at quarterback? If Wilson doesn't get the job done, will Jameis Winston prove to be adequate? Or, do the Giants turn to rookie Jaxson Dart? Receiver Malik Nabers (LSU) exhibited enough last season to prove he is the real deal. The Eagles have stud defensive tackles, the best linebacker in the division, the best running back, the best offensive line and perhaps the best duo of wide receivers. They ran the ball down Washington's throat in the NFC Championship game and entirely dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Can the Commanders overtake the Eagles to keep NFC East streak intact
