Cincinnati’s first FIFA Club World Cup match at TQL Stadium kicked off with a knockout, record-breaking game between Germany’s FC Bayern Munich and New Zealand’s Auckland City FC. UEFA heavyweight Bayern beat amateur Auckland 10-0—including three braces and a hat trick—in the first of four matches taking place in Cincinnati this month.
The second match overall of the Club World Cup, fans anticipated a more eventful contest than the tournament’s kickoff game on July 14—a drab showdown at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami between Egypt’s Al Ahly FC and Inter Miami that resulted in a draw.
Bayern is by far the most successful club team in German history, and the team’s play on the field did due diligence to its reputation. The 125-year-old team is a heavyweight in the Bundesliga, having won 33 league titles—including 11 consecutively from 2013 to 2023. Bayern has made a name for itself in the UEFA Champions League as well as six-time titleholders, also lauding two Intercontinental Cups and two Club World Cups (2013, 2020)
While Auckland is also a hardhitter for its league, the Oceania Football Confederation, it is also the smallest club in the tournament. Although still fairly young and the only representation of its region to show in the tournament, Auckland is a force to be reckoned with in the OFC, having secured 13 league titles since the team’s foundation in 2004, including consecutive wins from 2011 to 2017, and 2022 to present. The string of wins has made Auckland a regular competitor in the Club World Cup, having participated 11 times—placing third in 2014, but never having cinched the win.
Although the New Zealand team shows strength in its own league, players have to work around demanding schedules—as Auckland is an amateur team, all of its players either work full-time jobs or are enrolled as students, meaning many meet or exceed their unpaid leave from work to travel for the tournament. And while the team has hit hard in previous years at the Club World Cup, Auckland was no match to Bayern’s might this time around.
Bayern held the advantage not just in reputation, but in location as well. Based out of Munich, Germany—a sister city to Cincinnati—Bayern was fortunate to premiere its tournament gameplay in a location in which it already has a sizable fanbase. Bayern fans—both Queen City locals and Germans alike—took over nearby sports bar The Pitch for the entire weekend in preparation for the game. During that time, players had meet and greets with fans, and on Sunday morning, about 500 had gathered to prep for the noon game and then march to the stadium together, joined by Mayor Aftab Pureval.
Embed from Getty Images All being said, Bayern made good on fan anticipation for a game-packed match. By the end of the first half, the German team was ahead 6-0, including braces from Kingsley Coman (11) and Michael Olise (17). Goals by defender Sacha Boey (23) and Thomas Müller (25) rounded out the score.
It was a sweet start to the tournament for Müller, whose contract with Bayern expires this summer. The English midfielder/forward—who has scored more than 170 goals during his 25-year stint with the German team (he joined its youth program at age 10)—was offered a contract to join FC Cincinnati, but declined.
Auckland, meanwhile, managed no shots on Bayern during the first 45—unsurprising for a half in which Bayern dominated in possession. The New Zealand team picked up the pace in the second half, however, managing three shots on goal (albeit unsuccessful ones), and even a couple (also unsuccessful) runs for Bayern’s net.
Ultimately, the German giants came into the latter half strong as well, rounding out 32 total attempts at goal for the game, which were no match for Auckland goalie Conor Tracey. Jamal Musiala (42) subbed in for powerhouse forward Harry Kane (9) nearly a quarter into the half, and scored the first net of his hat trick just minutes later. Shortly after that, he secured his second goal off a penalty kick. The final, winning goal of the match came again from Müller in the 89th minute, adding a third brace to Bayern’s game resume and marking the first time that a team has scored 10 points in a Club World Cup game. The previous record, nine, was also held by Bayern.
According to ESPN, this is also the first 10-goal differential ever seen in FIFA Club World Cup history. Prior to Auckland’s fall to Bayern, the worst loss was in 2022, when Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal defeated the UAE’s Al Jazira 6-1.
Auckland next plays Portugal’s SL Benfica at the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando at noon on June 20. At 9 p.m. the same day, Bayern will take on Argentina’s CA Boca Juniors at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
The next match at TQL Stadium will be a faceoff between Mexico’s CF Pachuca and Austria’s FC Salzburg at 6 p.m. on June 18.
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