rewrite this title Auckland City 1-1 Boca Juniors: Report, result, goals as emotional Christian Gray is ‘lost for words’ after 2025 Club World Cup shock

Part-timers Auckland City caused one of the shocks of the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup by holding six-time South American champions Boca Juniors to a 1-1 draw as both sides exited the tournament in Nashville.

Goalkeeper Nathan Garrow’s 26th-minute own goal put Boca on course for what many had expected to be a routine win against opponents who had lost 10-0 to Bayern Munich and 6-0 to Benfica in their first two group stage games.

Carlos Palacios sent a shot against the crossbar and Miguel Merentiel headed against a post as Boca threatened a second before the break, but Auckland replied in the 52nd minute when defender and trainee teacher Christian Gray headed in from their first corner.

Garrow was busy and Merential had a strike ruled out for offside during the closing stages as the team from New Zealand avoided defeat for the first time in eight Club World Cup games across six tournaments, finishing immediately behind their opponents in fourth.

Christian Gray talks return to teaching after Club World Cup

“It’s been a tough trip,” quietly-spoken Gray told DAZN before accepting a hug from his interviewer. “I’m happy for the team and the boys. We got some respect back, I hope.

“It means a lot for the club. We rely on volunteers. We don’t have a lot of money. The club deserves it. It’s been a long four years building up to this.

“I don’t love the spotlight – I leave that to the other boys. There are a lot of emotions and I’m a little bit lost for words.

“I’ve got a few assignments that have piled up over the last month, so that’s what I’ll be going back to – and the school holidays, thankfully.

“I’m from a small town a long way here from here and a lot different to this environment, so it is somewhat of a dream.”

Auckland vs Boca: Club World Cup shock

While Auckland deserved a momentous result, Boca’s underwhelming end to their campaign was not for lack of trying in a game in which they had 40 attempts at goal and 74% of possession.

The 35-time Argentinian champions started with Uruguay’s second-top scorer of all time, Edinson Cavani, in attack alongside current Celeste international Merentiel, but a combination of frantic defending and unconvincing finishing gave them an evening to forget.

Garrow’s approach looked understandably nervous from the 20-year-old as he narrowly kept Boca at bay at times, with a Video Assistant Referee review against a handball from Kevin Zenon coming to his rescue when Merentiel found the back of the net.

The small following of Auckland fans celebrated every clearance and challenge exuberantly during added time, when Garrow bravely came out of his box to successfully tackle Milton Gimenez after the substitute threatened to burst clear.

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Fifa Club World Cup 2025 fixtures, schedule, results

Sunday, June 15

Group A: Al-Ahly 0-0 Miami (Miami)Group C: Bayern Munich 10-0 Auckland (Cincinnati)Group B: Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Atletico Madrid (Los Angeles)Group A: Palmeiras 0-0 Porto (New Jersey)

Monday, June 16

Group B: Botafogo 2-1 Seattle Sounders (Seattle)Group D: Chelsea 2-0 Los Angeles FC (Atlanta)Group C: Boca Juniors 2-2 Benfica (Miami)

Tuesday, June 17

Group D: Flamengo 2-0 Esperance (Philadelphia)Group F: Fluminense 0-0 Borussia Dortmund (New Jersey)Group E: River Plate 3-1 Urawa Red Diamonds (Seattle)Group F: Ulsan 0-1 Mamelodi Sundowns (Orlando)

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Wednesday, June 18

Group E: Monterrey 1-1 Inter Milan (Los Angeles)Group G: Manchester City 2-0 Wydad (Philadelphia)Group H: Real Madrid 1-1 Al-Hilal (Miami)Group H: Pachuca 1-2 Salzburg (Cincinnati)

Thursday, June 19

Group G: Al-Ain 0-5 Juventus (Washington)Group A: Palmeiras 2-0 Al-Ahly (New Jersey)Group A: Inter Miami 2-1 Porto (Atlanta)Group B: Seattle 1-3 Atletico Madrid (Seattle)

Friday, June 20

Group B: PSG 0-1 Botafogo (Los Angeles)Group C: Benfica 6-0 Auckland City (Orlando)Group D: Flamengo 3-1 Chelsea (Philadelphia)Group D: LAFC 0-1 Esperance (Nashville)

Saturday, June 21

Group C: Bayern 2-1 Boca Juniors (Miami)Group F: Mamelodi Sundowns 3-4 Dortmund (Cincinnati)Group E: Inter Milan 2-1 Urawa Red Diamonds (Seattle)Group F: Fluminense 4-2 Ulsan (New Jersey)

Sunday, June 22

Group E: River Plate 0-0 Monterrey (Los Angeles)Group G: Juventus 4-1 Wydad (Philadelphia)Group H: Real Madrid 3-1 Pachuca (Charlotte)Group H: Salzburg 0-0 Al-Hilal (Washington)

Monday, June 23

Group G: Man City 6-0 Al-Ain (Atlanta)Group B: Seattle 0-2 PSG (Seattle)Group B: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Botafogo (Los Angeles)

Tuesday, June 24

Group A: Porto 4-4 Al-Ahly (New Jersey)Group A: Inter Miami 2-2 Palmeiras (Miami)Group C: Auckland 1-1 Boca Juniors (Nashville)Group C: Benfica 1-0 Bayern (Charlotte)

Wednesday, June 25

Group D: LAFC vs Flamengo (Orlando, 02:00)Group D: Esperance vs Chelsea (Philadelphia, 02:00)Group F: Dortmund vs Ulsan (Cincinnati, 20:00)Group F: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Fluminense (Miami, 20:00)

Thursday, June 26

Group E: Urawa Red Diamonds vs Monterrey (02:00)Group E: Inter Milan vs River Plate (Seattle, 02:00)Group G: Juventus vs Man City (Orlando, 20:00)Group G: Wydad vs Al-Ain (Washington, 20:00)

Friday, June 27

Group H: Salzburg vs Real Madrid (Philadelphia, 02:00)Group H: Al-Hilal vs Pachuca (Nashville, 02:00)

Club World Cup round of 16 fixtures

Saturday, June 28

Match 49: Palmeiras vs Botafogo (Philadelphia, 17:00)Match 50: Group C winners vs Group D runners-up (Charlotte, 21:00)

Sunday, June 29

Match 51: PSG vs Inter Miami (Atlanta, 17:00)Match 52: Group D winners vs Group C runners-up (Miami, 21:00)

Monday, June 30

Match 53: Group E winners vs Group F runners-up (Charlotte, 15:00)

Tuesday, July 1

Match 54: Group G winners vs Group H runners-up (Orlando, 02:00)Match 55: Group H winners vs Group G runners-up (Miami, 20:00)

Wednesday, July 2

Match 56: Group F winners vs Group E runners-up (Atlanta, 21:00)

Club World Cup quarter-final fixtures

Friday, July 4

Match 57: Winner match 53 vs Winner match 54 (Orlando, 20:00)

Saturday, July 5

Match 58: Winner match 49 vs Winner match 50 (Philadelphia, 02:00)Match 59: Winner match 51 vs Winner match 52 (Atlanta, 17:00)Match 60: Winner match 55 vs Winner match 56 (New Jersey, 21:00)

Club World Cup semi-final fixtures

Tuesday, July 8

Match 61: Winner match 57 vs Winner match 58 (New Jersey, 20:00)

Wednesday, July 9

Match 62: Winner match 59 vs Winner match 60 (New Jersey, 20:00)

FIFA Club World Cup Final

Sunday, July 13

Match 63: Winner match 61 vs Winner match 62 (New Jersey, 20:00)

How to watch the Club World Cup: Live stream, TV channel in UK

Live coverage of 40 of the matches is on DAZN, with 23 on Channel 5. DAZN Subscribers or Freemium member can tune in as part of their existing membership, while non-subscribers can register for a free account to start watching.

Fans can watch on the go via the DAZN App on smart TVs, phones, tablets, games consoles and streaming devices.