Bayern Into Knockouts After Late Olise Winner Sinks Boca Juniors
Job done — but far from easy. Bayern Munich secured their place in the knockout rounds of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup thanks to a hard-fought 2–1 victory over Boca Juniors, with Michael Olise’s 84th-minute strike sealing the points in Miami.
Following their 10–0 demolition of Auckland City, few expected another goal-fest against a much tougher Argentine outfit. Still, Bayern wasted little time asserting dominance. On 18 minutes, Harry Kane got the better of two defenders with his sharp movement in the box, guiding the ball calmly into the bottom corner. Just moments later, Kingsley Coman should have made it two but failed to convert a close-range tap-in.
Boca, though, grew into the game. Miguel Merentiel — who also scored against Benfica — struck again midway through the second half with a superb solo effort, dancing past two defenders on the edge of the area before calmly beating Manuel Neuer to equalise.
The mood soured further for Bayern when Jamal Musiala limped off injured in the 82nd minute, casting doubt over his availability for upcoming matches.
With just six minutes of normal time remaining, Bayern found the breakthrough. Surrounded by defenders, Kane kept his composure to lay the ball off to Olise, who curled a superb finish into the far corner from the edge of the box to seal all three points.
With two wins from two, Bayern are through to the last 16 — but top spot in Group C is still up for grabs. They’ll face Benfica in the final round, with the Portuguese side needing just a draw to progress alongside them.
2025 FIFA Club World Cup
Bayern - Boca Juniors 2:1 (1:0)
Goals: Kane, 18 (1:0); Merentiel, 66 (1:1); Olise, 84 (2:1)
Bayern: Neuer; Tah J.; Guerreiro (Upamecano, 67); Stanisic; Kimmich; Gnabry (Musiala, 57; Muller, 82); Goretzka (Pavlovic Al., 57); Coman (Sane L., 67); Olise; Laimer; Kane
Bench: Peretz Da.; Urbig; Boey; Aznou; Palhinha; Bischof T.; Krattenmacher; Karl; Kusi-Asare
Yellow Cards: Goretzka 45
Boca Juniors: Marchesín; Blanco La.; Costa; Di Lollo; Belmonte (Alarcón, 69); Battaglia R.; Zenón (Braida, 59); Velasco (Saracchi, 80); Palacios C. (Giménez M., 69); Merentiel (Zeballos, 80); Advincula
Bench: Brey; García Javier; Fabra; Pellegrino М.; Blondel; Rojo; Miramon I.; Janson; Aguirre
Yellow Cards: Rojo 15; Advincula 36; Di Lollo 71
