Club World Cup: Auckland City, an amateur team, stun Argentinian giants that once featured Diego Maradona, Carlos Tevez
In one of the most astonishing results at the 2025 Club World Cup, and in football altogether, Auckland City, a side ranked 4,971st in the world by Opta, held South American side Boca Juniors, ranked 152 on the planet, to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday.
Auckland, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament and already eliminated after two heavy defeats - a 6-0 thumping by Benfica and a 10-0 demolition by German giants Bayern Munich, produced a defiant display to deny Argentina's six-time Copa Libertadores winners a spot in the knockout stages. Boca needed a win to stand a chance of progressing.
Despite being out-shot 40 to 4 and conceding nearly 70% possession, Auckland's grit and determination paid off.
Stats of Auckland City vs Boca Juniors
1 - 1 (Goals)
0.19 - 2.38 (xG)
3 - 40 (Shots)
2 - 9 (Shots on Target)
26% - 74% (Possession)
To put the scale of the upset into perspective, this was the equivalent of Scottish third-tier side Cove Rangers (ranked 4,844th) drawing with Juventus (ranked 25th), as per Opta.
Boca went ahead in the 26th minute after Lautaro Di Lollo's header hit the post and ricocheted in off Auckland goalkeeper Nathan Garrow for an unfortunate own goal. But Garrow recovered impressively, pulling off a series of second-half saves to preserve the scoreline.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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Undo
Auckland struck back in the 52nd minute when Christian Gray powered in a header from Jerson Lagos' corner, which was incidentally the team's first goal of the tournament.
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Was Auckland City's draw against Boca Juniors the biggest upset in Club World Cup history?
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'It's been a tough trip, we've had some tough results but I'm just happy for the team and the boys, I think we deserve it, we got a little bit of respect back I hope,' said goal scorer Gray to
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