With Boca Juniors being the underdogs how much can they upset the big dogs
With the FIFA Club World Cup on the horizon we take a look at the teams in Group C and assess their chances of qualifying. This group consists of Bayern Munich, Benfica, Boca Juniors and Auckland City. With Bayern Munich being expected to take top spot 2nd place will be up for grabs between Benfica and Boca Juniors. Plenty of exciting players will be going head to head against each with the likes of Kane, Musiala, Pavlidis, Zeballos and Cavani set to try make a name for themselves in this tournament. Regardless of the outcome this is set to be an exciting group to watch. Given that 2nd place will most likely be a contest between these two sides my take is that the biggest match of this group is Benfica vs Boca Juniors.
Auckland City just here for the experience
At this point it feels like Auckland City are just glad to be in the tournament. Any sort of progression into the knockout stage would be more than what they expected. Despite being heavy weights in their continent competing with teams from around the world is a whole different ball game. Even though their chances may be slim of progression the New Zealand outfit should be proud of themselves for just making it to the tournament. We can expect to see Auckland City sit back and defend for many of their games. However we also don’t expect them to be able to keep out the big teams for very long.
Boca here to spoil the party for the big names
Boca Juniors not only have the individual players to be a potential dark horse but also a strong tactical set up. Having been known in previous seasons for their defensive approach no team will want to let them score first. Every tournament has the team that goes on to cause a major upset and make it far into the knockout stage. Boca Juniors will be hoping to be that team and make a name for themselves in the first edition of this Club World Cup. Boca Juniors have had a quiet last few seasons but will hope to make their fans proud with a convincing tournament.
Benfica hoping to narrowly squeeze their way to the R16
After losing out on the Liga Portugal once again to their bitter rivals Sporting CP. Benfica will arrive in this tournament with hopes of making amends with their fans. Unfortunately for the Eagles their squad has been weakened by the departure of Argentine winger Angel di Maria who left to join Rosario Central. Much to the Lisbon side’s relief it looks as if they will hang on to Alvaro Carreras for this tournament. The Spanish fullback had an agreement with Real Madrid but negotiations between the two clubs stalled. Benfica will be hoping to take inspiration from their brilliant run to the Champions League quarterfinals in 2023. One factor that could give them the edge over Boca Juniors may just be the fact be better at converting their chances in the final third.
With Bayern possesing too much power we can expect them to coast through their group
Bayern Munich will certainly fancy their chances of going all the way in this tournament. The Bavarian Giants were narrowly defeated by Inter which halted their Champions Leagues dream but they will certainly give this tournament a real go. Given the individual talent with young prospects blended with experience it seems hard not to pick them as one of the favorites. Their ability to create overloads in midfield could see them gain a numerical advantage which then opens up opportunities for them. Despite being known for their ruthless and explosive counter attacks they may want to make a few tweaks to their set up. Their counter attacks have sometimes been criticized for being easy to predict which can make life difficult for them against teams that like to sit back and defend.
