Auckland City FC held out for a while, but all of the bending eventually caused the New Zealand club to break. SL Benfica dominated this 2025 FIFA Club World Cup match at Inter&Co Stadium. Angel Di Maria scored from the penalty spot deep in first-half stoppage time to break the scoreless deadlock and the ceiling fell in on Auckland City in the second half, as Benfica won 6-0 in front of an announced crowd of 6,730.

Di Maria completed his brace from the penalty spot deep in second-half stoppage time. Leandro Barreiro scored a brace in the second half two minutes apart, and Renato Sanches and Evangelos Pavlidis also scored for the Portuguese side, which found the net five times after a lengthy weather delay that began at halftime. Benfica momentarily takes the lead in Group C, pending the outcome of tonight’s Bayern Munich-Boca Juniors match.

As expected, Benfica dominated play against the New Zealand side, creating nearly all the game’s chances and keeping the ball for extended spells.

The first chance fell early to Benfica with Kerem Akturkoglu firing just wide of the left post and hitting the outside netting from the left. In the ninth minute, Nicolas Otamendi tried an audacious bicycle kick off a partial corner kick clearance, but sent his effort straight at 20-year-old Auckland City goalkeeper Nathan Garrow. Akturkoglu missed just wide to the right moments later.

Pavlidis should have scored in the 24th minute when he got in behind. The defense recovered just enough to effect his shot, which skipped just inches wide of the right post.

As the first half wound down, Garrow made several heroic saves to keep the game scoreless. He denied Barreiro, Otamendi and Orkan Kokcu with three of his better stops. Fredrik Aursnes thought he’d put Benfica ahead in the 43rd minute but he scored after a whistle for a collision with Garrow, who spilled his catch attempt. Gianluca Prestianni sent a header inches over the bar a minute later, putting it onto the roof of the net.

Just when it looked like Auckland City would survive the first half without conceding, disaster struck. Haris Zeb got on the wrong side of Prestianni in the box and stuck in a foot, bringing the Argentine down and conceding a penalty. Di Maria stood over the ball, took a stutter-step runup, and sent a soft shot down the middle to beat Garrow, who had made a dive to his right. Benfica led 1-0 in the eighth minute of first-half stoppage time.

Auckland City had a late set piece from about 25 yards out on the left in the dying minutes of the first half, but the service was overhit and out of play.

Benfica dominated statistically as well as territorially, finishing the first half with the advantage in shots (17-1), shots on target (9-0), corners (5-0), and passing accuracy (99.6%-74.4%).

One of Orlando’s omnipresent summer storms moved into the area as the halftime whistle blew, delaying the restart by about two hours.

When the game resumed, Auckland City finally put a shot on target. Off a long-range set piece, the ball found Zeb on the left side at the top of the box. His shot was saved at the near post by Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin. The Kiwi side could do nothing with the ensuing corner.

From that point on, it was once again nearly all Benfica, which eventually wore down Auckland City’s resolve. Pavlidis made it 2-0 in the 53rd minute when he took a pass from Kokcu and discarded Michael den Heijer to get free in on goal before slotting home.

Just 10 minutes later, Sanches scored with one of his first touches of the ball. Taking the ball from an Otamendi layoff at the top of the box, Sanches fired through the bodies in front. The ball took a deflection and went in, and the floodgates were fully opened.

The fourth and fifth goals both came from Barreiro in the 76th and 78th minutes, as Benfica was so confident that Trubin was playing near midfield and all 10 outfield players were in the attacking third most of the half. Both goals were easy finishes as the Auckland back line simply couldn’t keep up with the barrage of attacking movements. Pavlidis sent a good ball from the left across the six on the first one.

Moments later, the ball in behind the defense came from the right.

Auckland got in a weak shot or two from distance but didn’t threaten much after the early second-half set pieces. The game was done and dusted but Benfica wasn’t done scoring.

A penalty in the area in stoppage time wasn’t initially given, but upon video review, Benfica was awarded a second spot kick. Just like the first, Di Maria scored it in the eighth minute of stoppage time for the final tally.

The final whistle mercifully blew moments later to end the proceedings.

In the end, Benfica finished with a commanding advantage in shots (31-5), shots on target (20-2), corners (6-1), and passing accuracy (86.2%-70.3%).

That’s it for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup matches at Inter&Co Stadium. The next match in Orlando will pit MLS side LAFC against Brazilian giants Flamengo in Group D play at Camping World Stadium Tuesday at 9 p.m.

The first FIFA Club World Cup match at Inter&Co Stadium took a while to get going, as a one-hour weather delay pushed the start of South Korean club Ulsan HD and Mamelodi Sundowns FC from South Africa. After the weather cleared, a small but excited crowd of 3,412 cheered on their teams. Iqraam Rayners made the Mamelodi Sundowns fans happy with the game’s only goal as the South African club won the match, 1-0.

There was a nice contingent of Ulsan fans in The Wall on the north side of the stadium, while a small sea of yellow-clad Mamelodi Sundowns fans packed one lower deck section on the west side, spending much of the match on their feet dancing and singing.

The players had just gone through introductions and took the field when the weather moved in. The game was seconds from kicking off when the announcement came for fans to seek shelter while a summer storm moved through downtown Orlando. After an hour, the teams finally kicked off.

Rayners scored the first FIFA Club World Cup goal in Orlando when Lucas Ribeiro threaded a great through ball between defenders for the Cape Town-born forward to run onto. Rayners slotted it inside the left post to put his team up 1-0 in the 36th minute.

Rayners might have had a hat trick in the first half, but his first would-be goal moments earlier off a corner kick hit his arm and was overturned by video review. The would-be third goal saw him just about half a yard offside, spoiling a nice chipped finish into the left corner from the right side of the box.

Ulsan HD had a few decent looks at goal and a couple of late corners but could not find that final bit of quality, and Mamelodi Sundowns FC took its 1-0 lead into the break.

Shots were 8-5 in favor of the South African side in the opening half, with each team putting two attempts on target. It was an evenly played half, despite Mamelodi having more possession in the attacking third.

The game continued to be evenly played in the second half, with both teams creating opportunities in a free-flowing match. Ribeiro for Hamelodi Sundowns and Seungbeom Ko for Ulsan HD produced the best chances in the first 30 minutes of the second period, but both could only win their side a corner.

Matias Lacava and Erick each had opportunities to level the game for Ulsan in the 81st minute but Ronwen Williams made a good save to deny the first attempt and his defense helped him with the second.

Tashreeq Matthews could have put the game away for Mamelodi Sundowns in the 88th minute but fired over the bar from the left.

Neither side could find the game’s second goal, and Mamelodi Sundowns held on for the win, climbing to the top of Group F following a scoreless draw earlier between Brazilian side Fluminense and Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund.

Mamelodi Sundowns finished with the advantage in possession (56%-37%, with 7% in contest), and shots (14-7). Ulsan HD fired shots on target (3-2) and corners (9-4).

After getting the win, Bafana ba Style will face Borussia Dortmund in Cincinnati, while the Tigers will head to New Jersey to face Fluminense. Both Group F second-round matches are Saturday.

Inter&Co Stadium will host one more match in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, as Benfica faces Auckland City on Friday at noon. Two more matches in the group stage and two knockout stage matches will be held locally at Camping World Stadium.

The United States Men’s National Team is still perfect at Inter&Co Stadium after a 3-0 win over Costa Rica on a cold Wednesday night in Orlando. Brian White, Caden Clark, and Patrick Agyemang provided the offense as the USMNT improved to a perfect 7-0-0 at the home stadium of Orlando City SC, outscoring the opposition 25-2 in the venue.

“I think we are very, very happy,” USMNT Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino said after the game. “After 90 minutes, it’s like, okay, it’s not (looking like) one or two weeks working together. It looks like we’re working together for six months.”

Pochettino’s starting lineup included Zack Steffen in goal behind a back line of DeJuan Jones, Tim Ream, Walker Zimmerman, and Miles Robinson. Benjamin Cremaschi and Emeka Eneli started in the central midfield behind an attacking line of Brian Gutierrez, Diego Luna, and Indiana Vassilev, with White up top. For Robinson, it was his first USMNT start at right back.

Los Ticos opened the game as the aggressor, getting on the ball more and winning several early corner kicks. The visitors, however, could do nothing with them. The U.S. won a couple early corners of its own. The first was played short and ended in a Vassilev shot high over the bar from outside the area. On the second, Vassilev got his shot blocked in front. Gutierrez’s follow-up shot squirted off the side of his foot and into the outside netting in the 14th minute.

A few minutes later, Luna took a careless arm in the face and may have broken his nose. He spent several minutes getting attended to by the training staff, staying in the game after changing out of his bloody shirt and putting on a clean one. Just moments later, Luna took a pass from Jones near the middle of the field, carried it into the attacking half, and threaded a beautiful pass to White up top. White didn’t get all of his left-footed shot, but he placed it well, scoring his first USMNT goal to make it 1-0 in the 21st minute.

“(Luna) showed great character, because he wanted to stay. He wanted to play,” Pochettino said. “He’s a player that for sure we’re going to have consideration for the future.”

White nearly netted his second goal five minutes later off a corner. Ream flicked the ball into the middle of the box for White, who stabbed a shot right at goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado, who made a good reaction save to keep it 1-0. A minute later, Luna set up White on the right side. Alvarado made the initial save and Vassilev couldn’t get on the rebound as it was knocked out for a corner. Ream flicked well wide of the near post on the right side on the ensuing set piece.

Costa Rica had a good attacking spell toward the latter part of the first half. Steffen did well to palm away a wicked cross by Joseph Mora in the 36th minute. Moments later, he made a big save, tipping a dipping Alejandro Bran shot from distance over the crossbar. Luna cleared away the ensuing corner kick after it pinged dangerously along the ground in the box.

Luna was nearly in behind down the left in the 39th minute but Santiago van der Putten pulled him back, earning a yellow card. The U.S. did nothing with the ensuing free kick and Robinson was booked for a collision with the goalkeeper after Alvarado caught the Gutierrez service.

Gutierrez made a barnstorming run through the Costa Rica defense in the 42nd minute, working his way left to right to set up a shot, but he ultimately had it blocked by Ryan Bolanos.

The last chance of the half nearly went Costa Rica’s way, but Robinson read the entry ball well and beat Josimar Mendez to the ball on what could have been a point-blank opportunity. The sides went to the break with the U.S. up 1-0.

The U.S. held the halftime advantage in possession (59.4%-40.6%), shots (7-3), and shots on target (3-1). Costa Rica won more corners (5-4)

Pochettino made three changes at the break, sending on Jack McGlynn, Clark, and Matko Miljevic for Luna, Gutierrez, and Cremaschi.

With a lot of whistles, some yellow cards, and several substitutions, the second half didn’t flow as smoothly as the first. The United States had few sustained attacking possessions but still managed to find some goals near the end to put the game away, but not before the Ticos threatened to make a game of it.

Creichel Perez had the first shot of the second half in the 53rd minute, sending a shot over Steffen’s goal from distance. A minute later, White had a golden opportunity for a brace, faking his defender to the ground and firing wide of the left post from the right from seven yards out.

Allan Cruz nearly tied the game in the 56th minute. A shot from the right deflected to a wide-open Cruz in the box on the left. He blasted a shot, but Steffen made a sensational save to tip it wide and preserve his team’s lead.

“Today he performed really, really well,” Pochettino said of Steffen’s performance. “A few saves that were amazing, showed the quality that the keeper (has). The keeper needs to save and he showed his quality, so happy for him, because he was great.”

Cruz sent a one-hopper right at Steffen in the 66th minute to break up a spell without scoring chances either way.

The U.S. doubled its lead in the 77th minute on a great play on the left by Eneli, who beat the defense and cut back a diagonal pass through the box. Clark fired, smashing his shot into the upper left corner to make it 2-0.

The Yanks did well to kill the game from that point on, keeping possession and passing around the back to bleed the clock, but there were a few near misses on through balls that nearly put Agyemang in behind the defense. It finally worked in the 90th minute, as an inside-out ball from Jones sent the Charlotte FC striker down the left. Despite being at a tight angle, Agyemang blasted a left-footed shot in to make it 3-0 in the 90th minute for the final tally. It was Agyemang’s second goal in as many games in this January window.

Pochettino said all of the forwards in camp were impressive in this window.

“Brian White performed really well today and he scored. Patrick also impressed us. Caden Clark also,” he said. “We are so happy because very impressive month from the whole squad. It makes us feel very positive for the future. We have different options.”

Costa Rica put the ball in the box and tried to find a consolation goal in stoppage time but couldn’t connect, and the U.S. held on for the win.

The United States finished with the advantage in possession (58.4%-41.6%), shots (11-9), and shots on target (5-3), while Costa Rica won more corners (6-4).

“I think we were showing a great mentality and the quality there,” Pochettino said. “That’s why we scored three goals and we created many chances in two games. It’s about (getting the players) to believe, it’s about that they have their chances to show their quality.”

With the victory, the U.S. improved to 20-17-6 in the all-time series with Costa Rica, including a mark of 20-6-4 at home.

Next up for Pochettino’s men is a meeting with Panama in March in Concacaf Nations League play on March 20 in Los Angeles.