Club World Cup: Bayern Munich vs Boca Juniors – start, team news, lineups

Who: Bayern Munich (Germany) vs Boca Juniors (Argentina)
What: FIFA Club World Cup, Group C, Matchday 2
Where: Hard Rock Stadium successful Miami, Florida, United States
When: Kickoff is astatine 9pm connected Friday (01:00 GMT connected Saturday)

How to travel our coverage: We’ll person each the build-up from 5pm section (21:00 GMT connected Friday) connected Al Jazeera Sport.

Group C leaders Bayern Munich clash with Argentina mega nine Boca Juniors successful the 2nd matchday for each broadside astatine the FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) successful the United States.

Victory for Bayern would guarantee they suffice for the knockout stages, opening connected June 28.

After a gully successful their opening match, Boca Juniors person it each to play for if they besides privation to advancement to the past 16 of the tourney and volition request to decision Bayern to gully level connected points astatine the apical of Group C.

How did Bayern Munich and Boca Juniors fare successful their opening Group C fixtures?

Bayern Munich began their run successful record-breaking fashion, becoming the archetypal squad to people treble digits successful a azygous CWC crippled erstwhile they thumped Auckland City 10-0 connected Sunday.

German planetary Jamal Musiala marked his instrumentality from wounded with a superb second-half hat-trick successful a commanding squad display.

Boca Juniors played retired a 2-2 gully with Benfica connected Monday successful a feisty brushwood that resulted successful 3 reddish cards.

The Buenos Aires broadside were up 2-0 conscionable earlier half-time but fto the 3 points gaffe aft squandering the pb to the Portuguese side.

Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala scores a hat-trick against Auckland City [Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters]

Why were Boca’s Ander Herrera and Nicolas Figal fixed harsh suspensions?

Boca Juniors players Ander Herrera and Nicolas Figal were handed four-match bans by FIFA aft being sent disconnected successful their CWC opener, a spokesperson for the Argentinian nine said connected Wednesday.

Boca disagreed with the sanctions imposed connected their players aft Benfica’s Andrea Belotti received a two-match prohibition for catching Ayrton Costa successful the caput with a precocious footwear successful the 72nd minute.

“We person already contacted FIFA to taxable an appeal,” a nine spokesperson said.

Spanish midfielder Herrera, who was subbed disconnected owed to a musculus injury, was shown a reddish paper successful the 45th infinitesimal aft protesting to Mexican referee Cesar Ramos from the seat implicit a punishment awarded to the Portuguese side.

Defender Figal was sent disconnected successful the 88th infinitesimal with a consecutive reddish paper for a foul connected Florentino Luis erstwhile the lucifer was tied astatine 2-2.

Mexican referee Cesar Ramos shows a reddish paper to Boca Juniors’ Argentinian defender Nicolas Figal during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Group C lucifer against Portugal’s Benfica astatine the Hard Rock Stadium successful Miami, Florida, connected June 16, 2025 [Chandan Khanna/AFP]

Have Bayern and Boca ever played before?

The teams past met connected November 27, 2001, successful the knockout signifier of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup successful Tokyo, Japan.

The contention was billed arsenic a clash of the ace clubs betwixt the then-two-time Copa Libertadores champion Boca Juniors taking connected the mightiness of the recently crowned UEFA Champions League winners, Bayern Munich.

Bayern bushed Boca 1-0 successful other clip courtesy of a 109th infinitesimal onslaught by Samuel Kuffour.

Friday’s lucifer volition beryllium lone the 4th clip they’ve played successful 100 years.

Samuel Kuffour scores the game-winning extremity against Boca Juniors connected November 27, 2001, successful Tokyo, Japan [Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts via Getty Images]

Team News: Bayern Munich

Out: Hiroki Ito (metatarsal fracture), Alphonso Davies (cruciate ligament tear), Kim Min-jae (foot injury)
Doubtful: none

Manager Vincent Kompany has a afloat squad disposable to him and is expected to tract a akin starting XI to the broadside that thrashed Auckland.

Star guardant Harry Kane, who failed to people successful the extremity fest against Auckland City, is again expected to pb the line.

Team News: Boca Juniors

Out: Sergio Romero (knee injury)
Doubtful: none
Suspended: Herrera, Figal

Boca Juniors manager Miguel Russo has 2 ample holes to capable with erstwhile Manchester United prima Herrera and Figal some suspended until the semifinal signifier of the tournament.

Tomas Belmonte replaced Herrera successful the midfield against Benfica and is simply a near-certainty to get the commencement successful the cardinal cardinal midfield role. Figal’s relation successful the backmost 4 volition apt beryllium occupied by Marcos Rojo.

Russo is expected to deploy the aforesaid 4-2-3-1 set-up, conscionable arsenic helium did against Benfica.

Down 2 starters, Boca Juniors manager Miguel Russo, left, volition person immoderate pugnacious choices to marque connected squad enactment successful the lucifer against Bayern Munich connected June 20, 2025 [File: Luciano Bisbal/Getty Images]

Possible lineups:

Bayern Munich: Neuer; Laimer, Tah, Upamecano, Guerreiro; Kimmich, Pavlovic; Olise, Musiala, Coman; Kane

Boca Juniors: Marchesin; Advincula, Rojo, Costa, Blanco; Belmonte, Battaglia; Zenon, Velasco, Palacios; Zeballos

Form guide

Bayern Munich (all competitions, astir caller first):

W-W-D-W-W

Boca Juniors (all competitions, astir caller first):

W-L-D-W-L

Where volition the lucifer beryllium played?

The lucifer volition beryllium played astatine the 65,000-capacity Hard Rock Stadium successful Miami, Florida.

The venue is location to the legendary Miami Dolphins NFL franchise and stages the Miami Tennis Open annually.

The Hard Rock Stadium successful Miami [File: Geoff Burke/USA Today Sports via Reuters]

What the teams had to say

Manuela Neuer, Bayern Munich goalkeeper:

“We’re decidedly expecting a bully atmosphere. We saw however the lucifer against Benfica went,” Neuer told fcbayern.com.

“We’re getting much and much focused arsenic the crippled approaches. In presumption of investigation of the absorption too, we cognize precisely what we’ll request successful the match. We support expanding the strength earlier reducing it a small connected the time earlier the lucifer due to the fact that the temperatures excessively play a role.”

Miguel Russo, Boca Juniors manager:

“We person to beryllium up to the task. It volition beryllium a carnal lucifer similar [against Benfica].

“They’re [Bayern Munich are] a large opponent. Historically, they’ve won a lot. But Argentine shot is large too. … We invited these challenges. But we person to cognize that Friday’s crippled volition beryllium tougher than today’s [vs Benfica].”

How overmuch is the prize wealth for the Club World Cup?

The full prize cookware is $1bn with the champions earning up to $125m.

About fractional of the $1bn volition beryllium divided betwixt the 32 clubs with the magnitude per nine based connected sporting and commercialized criteria. It means that clubs specified arsenic Manchester City and Real Madrid volition person a greater percent than smaller clubs successful a exemplary FIFA developed with the European Club Association.

A further $475m volition beryllium awarded connected a performance-related basis. Hence, the squad with the astir wins implicit a imaginable 7 matches volition slope much currency with a maximum cookware of $125m available.