Ryan Bridge talks to Bonnie Jansen and Winston Aldworth after Ryan Fox is forced to retire from Canadian Grand Prix.
Auckland City kept England star Harry Kane goalless, but his Bayern Munich teammates bagged 10. Here’s what football media around the world had to say:
‘Further questions about the new format’
Matthew Howarth, BBC
The decision to expand the Club World Cup from seven to 32 teams this summer hasalready led to legal complaints from players’ union Fifpro and the World Leagues Association.
But the chasm in class between Bayern and Auckland on Sunday is likely to raise further questions about the new format.
Winners of the Oceania Champions League in each of the past four years, Auckland have made it to the tournament on that merit, but upsetting the 34-time German champions was always going to be a tall order – to put it very mildly – for a team comprising teachers, students and real estate agents.
Auckland’s hopes of an almighty upset were all but extinguished by [Kingsley] Coman’s early opener, and had it not been for several smart saves from goalkeeper [Conor] Tracey they would have lost by an even heavier margin.
Kingsley Coman of Bayern Munich celebrates after his goal against Auckland City FC. Photo / Getty Images
‘Genuinely never gave up’
Frank Mo, Bavarian Football Works
Auckland City actually started well into the game by remaining compact and kept the Bavarians from creating many real chances. Even when the Bavarians opened the scoring in the sixth minute, the goal came from a set piece and did not open the floodgates. Instead, the team from New Zealand managed to stay sturdy a little while longer and forced Bayern to pass around the 18-yard box without much success. Bayern were consistently forced to launch aimless crosses into the box.
It would be churlish to claim that the players could be proud of themselves after that match. After all, they had just lost 10-0, which is the new record for the biggest loss in the competition. But their early resistance was admirable and they genuinely never gave up. These players were clearly happy to be here despite everything, and it showed.
‘There is some mitigation’
The Guardian
The good news for Auckland City was that they stopped Harry Kane scoring on Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati. The bad news was that his Bayern Munich teammates were a little more prolific, scoring 10 between them in the opening match of their Club World Cup campaign.
If Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, was hoping his expanded Club World Cup – now containing 32 teams, playing across four weeks in 11 US cities – would showcase the depth of talent in global football, this was not a good example. The statistics were excruciating: the German champions had 31 shots – 17 of them on target – to Auckland’s one, and enjoyed 72% of possession.
There is some mitigation. While many argue that talent has been diluted by expanding the number of teams at this tournament, Auckland City have been a feature of the Club World Cup for some time: they have actually played at more editions than any other team. On the other hand, they’re not even the best team in Auckland, let alone New Zealand. Auckland City are part-timers, and the city’s professional team, Auckland FC, play in Australia’s A-League.
‘Group of death’
Tom Morgan, The Telegraph
Auckland’s squad is made up of forklift drivers, a fizzy drinks salesman, real estate agents and a warehouse manager. Predictably, the 4957th side in the Opta world rankings were reduced to just one chance the entire match against the rampant Bundesliga champions.
For Auckland, there will be little to take encouragement from ahead of the remainder of their group of death, in which they also face Benfica and Boca Juniors, with several of the New Zealand team’s players not able to travel to America because of their work requirements back home.
Auckland never got a foothold in the game in stifling temperatures, with Sacha Boey crashing home Coman’s knockdown on the half-volley to double Bayern’s advantage 12 minutes later.
There would be no surprise underdog story on the second day of the Fifa Club World Cup as Bayern Munich smashed the OFC Champions League winners Auckland City FC 10-0 at the TQL Stadium in Cincinnati. According to Transfermarkt, it is the biggest win by any team since the introduction of the Fifa Club World Cup. That record, however, stretches back to the old format.
Either way, the result was to be expected. After all, the two teams have the largest gulf in terms of Transfermarkt squad value among all teams at the tournament. While Auckland City has a combined market value of just €4.58 million [$5.29m], Bayern’s total squad value is €903.5 million [$1.04 billion] the fifth-highest among all teams at the Fifa Club World Cup.
Bayern Munich versus Auckland City lived up to its billing as a mismatch for the ages as the kings of German football romped to the biggest victory in Club World Cup history in Cincinnati.
Harry Kane takes a shot as Michael Den Heijer defends. Photo / Getty Images
‘Makes a mockery of the tournament’
Jordan Campbell, New York Times
From the very start, it was clear that this was going to be a cricket score. Watching such an uncompetitive game take place at a competition billed as the 32 best teams in the world is a clear contradiction and calls into question whether it makes a mockery of the tournament.
It will have doubtlessly felt a tad embarrassing for Auckland’s players, even if they know they are part-timers up against elite multimillionaires with access to the best facilities, but the alternative argument is that this is what true worldwide representation means.
