SL Benfica may have started slowly in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, needing a two-goal rally to draw 2-2 with CA Boca Juniors in their opener, but they are on fire to close the group stage.
On Tuesday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, the Portuguese side usurped FC Bayern München for the top spot in Group C thanks to a 1-0 victory courtesy of Andreas Schjelderup’s strike.
The 21-year-old Norwegian, along with the sparkling play of goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin, will garner the headlines, but it was the strong defensive shape and collective play carried out by head coach Bruno Lage’s men that secured the full points.
Speaking with FIFA after his team’s scintillating victory, Lage pointed to that and the UEFA Champions League meeting last November with Bayern – a 1-0 win for the Germans – as the foundation for Tuesday’s winning approach.
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“It’s teamwork. I think it was teamwork, but also we played against Bayern before,” said Lage. “And you know how tough they are to play against, so we learned from that game, but more importantly, it’s what we were going to do with the ball. And I think we managed very well. When we had time to attack quickly, we did it. But when we had time to control the game with the ball and run with it, we did.”
Lage also took great delight in finishing with a seven-point haul over their three matches. Sandwiched between the draw with Boca Juniors and the Bayern victory was an emphatic 6-0 triumph over Auckland City FC. It all sets the stage for a compelling Round of 16 match-up against the runner-up from Group D, either Chelsea FC or Espérance. Even better news for Benfica is that no travel will be needed. They will remain in Charlotte for Saturday’s knockout round encounter.
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“We did a fantastic first half,” said Lage. “I don’t remember a good chance from Bayern in the first half. And we had one more with [Evangelos] Pavlidis. In the second half, we had a good chance with [Orkun] Kokcu. They also had two good chances. But in the end, it’s been a lot for us, especially the teamwork that we did. First position in the group and now we go forward.”
