Olise’s late strike sends Bayern Munich into Club World Cup knockouts

Michael Olise’s late strike secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory for Bayern Munich over Boca Juniors in the FIFA Club World Cup, ensuring the reigning German champions a spot in the knockout stage here at the Hard Rock Stadium on Friday.

Harry Kane opened the scoring in the 18th minute, giving his side an early lead. Konrad Laimer missed a pass from Kingsley Coman, which allowed Kane to unleash a powerful left-footed shot from 12 yards that hit the back of the net.

Reflecting on the match, Kane acknowledged the challenging conditions and the high standard of competition at the tournament.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, we knew we were coming into a hostile environment, hot weather, it was tough,” Kane said.

“It’s a massive tournament. We are playing against the best teams in the world. We just have to compete at our highest level and we should be able to beat most teams.”

Boca Juniors responded strongly after the break, with Miguel Merentiel levelling the score at 1-1 in the 66th minute. The Uruguayan forward showed great composure and skill, blasting a right-footed shot past Manuel Neuer to bring his side back into the game.

However, Bayern regained the lead in the 84th minute thanks to Olise. Kane collected the ball and set up Olise, who fired a low shot into the left corner to seal the win for the Bundesliga giants.

Bayern came into the match on the back of a thumping 10-0 win over Auckland City and started with the same intensity.

With this victory, Bayern top Group C and are assured of progressing to the knockout stage. They will face SL Benfica in their final group fixtur