CA Boca Juniors 2-2 SL Benfica | Group C
Boca goals: Miguel Merentiel (21), Rodrigo Battaglia (27)
Benfica goals: Angel Di Maria (45+3), Nicolas Otamendi (84)
CA Boca Juniors and SL Benfica kicked off their FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ campaigns by producing one of the most thrilling matches of the tournament so far.
After 20 minutes of domination by the Portuguese, it was Boca who opened the scoring. Midfielder Carlos Palacios won a long goal kick, leaving left-back Lautaro Blanco in space against an out-of-position Florentino. Blanco nutmegged the Benfica midfielder before whipping in a low left-foot cross to the near post, where Miguel Merential deftly flicked home.
Just six minutes later, and with the noisy traveling brigade of Boca fans in full voice, Boca doubled their advantage from a corner kick.
Centre-back Ayrton Costa won the initial header, heading the ball back across goal from the far post. Midfielder Rodrigo Battaglia then out-jumped his marker to head in at the near post.
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The game continued apace with plenty of chances and fouls. As the half came to a close, a VAR review determined that Nicolas Otamendi had been fouled in the box by Palacios. Angel Di Maria sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, halving Boca’s lead in the Argentinian veteran’s final tournament with Benfica.
After the break, Benfica turned to veteran striker Andrea Belotti for inspiration. Those hopes looked initially to have been dashed when Belotti was sent off for a high boot to the back of Ayrton Costa’s head. However, Benfica captain Nicolas Otamendi came to the rescue, sneaking in unmarked to bullet home a header from a corner kick to draw the match level.
Boca defender Nicolas Figal was shown a red card as the final seconds of the 90 ticked down and, with neither side able to find a winner, both will go into their next matches with hopes delicately poised.
Quotes
“We tried to win the game. We know what Argentinian football is. We knew how we had to play, but in the first half we didn’t play that way. We needed a bit more. In the second half we played much better. We tried to win the game at the end, but we couldn’t quite do it.”
Benfica winger Angel di Maria
“We’re left with a bitter taste because we thought we could have won it. We gave our all, we competed, we ran… we played the way we needed to, but we’re left with a bitter taste because we didn’t know how to take advantage of having an extra man, and they scored from a set piece. These are just circumstances of the match; they’re a great team and have great players. Now we have to prepare for the next game and, once again, thank our fans.”
Rodrigo Battaglia, Boca defender
Michelob Ultra Superior Player of the Match
Miguel Merentiel (Boca Juniors)
