Boca's embarrassment: couldn't handle Auckland City and was eliminated from the Club World Cup

Boca's dream in the Club World Cup has come to an end. In addition to the fact that Xeneize drew 1-1 with Auckland City, Bayern Munich had lost minutes earlier to Benfica 1-0, leaving the Argentine club with no chance.

Right from the start, Boca tried every possible way to break through Auckland's defense; however, they weren't effective with the ball, neither with crosses nor with shots on goal. Even the New Zealand team had a few dangerous attacks, but none of them succeeded.

After Exequiel "Changuito" Zeballos's injury in the 26th minute and the substitution of Kevin Zenón in his place, Xeneize managed to open the scoring thanks to an own goal by Nathan Garrow, the New Zealand team's goalkeeper.

The Ribera club tried to extend their lead and, although they hit the post a few times, they couldn't get past the defense of the Oceanic club, going into halftime with only one goal in their favor.

In the second half, Boca would maintain the same offensive scheme, trying every possible way to increase the score. However, in the 52nd minute, Christian Gray would surprisingly tie the match with a header after a corner from Colombian Yerson Lagos.

As an interesting fact, Gray is not only a football player, but also a student teacher at Mount Roskill Intermediate School and Auckland Primary School. In addition, he is the son of former New Zealand national team captain Roger Gray. Meanwhile, Lagos is a barber.

Minutes later, due to adverse weather, the match had to be suspended for more than 30 minutes. During that time, the other Group C match continued and ended with a 1-0 victory for Benfica, with a goal by Schjelderup. This victory put the Portuguese team in first place with 7 points, who will face Chelsea or Esperance ST in the round of 16, followed by the German team with 6 points, who will play against Flamengo.

After the suspension, the match was able to continue normally. In the 58th minute, Miguel Merentiel would put Xeneize ahead again, but his goal was disallowed for a previous handball by Zenón.

Boca's attempts increased, but Auckland held on as best they could, with goalkeeper Garrow as the standout player, who managed to remain unbeaten in the second half, achieving a historic draw for his team.