Club World Cup: Flamengo and Bayern seal their qualification after beating Chelsea and Boca

Flamengo became on Friday the first team to qualify for the round of 16 of the Club World Cup after their emphatic win over Chelsea, shortly before the match of the day, Boca Juniors vs. Bayern Munich, which ended with the German side winning 2-1 in a match full of excitement, plot twists and a great atmosphere thanks to the Boca fans.

Thanks to that result, Bayern also sealed their qualification to the round of 16.

Bruno Henrique puts Flamengo over Chelsea

The Carioca team beat their London rivals 3-1 and took advantage of Tunisian side Espérance's 1-0 victory over Los Angeles FC, in the other Group D match, to punch their ticket to the round of 16.

Los Angeles FC is the second team to be eliminated after Auckland City, defeated 6-0 on Friday by Benfica, in Group C, a result that will force Boca to beat Auckland on the last matchday to dream of qualifying for the round of 16.

In Philadelphia, Flamengo came back from 1-0 down to beat Chelsea a day after Botafogo struck the first blow on the table by beating PSG (1-0), in the duel between the South American and European champions.

Attacker Bruno Henrique, the big star of the match alongside midfielder Gerson, came off the bench to seal an epic comeback that had been simmering: on a dream night, the Brazilian winger equalized and assisted Danilo to turn the score around in just three minutes (62', 65').

"I was focused. Filipe [Luís, Flamengo coach] spoke to me and told me that those of us on the bench would be very important," the hero of the day told Brazilian channel SporTV.

Wallace Yan, 20 years old, sealed the second big upset in the United States and the probable early qualification of his side, which beat Espérance 2-0 in its first game.

Boca Juniors nearly upsets Bayern

Boca Juniors, on the other hand, could not pull the upset like Flamengo, suffering a bitter 2-1 defeat against Bayern Munich.

With Hard Rock Stadium absolutely taken over by the Boca fans, the side played a brave game, fighting against adversity while recovering from an early goal from Bayern striker Harry Kane (18'), until getting the equalizer with a tremendous goal by Uruguayan forward Miguel Merentiel in the 66th minute.

However, when Boca was playing better, savoring the point and watching the clock, French winger Michael Olise put an end to the Xeneize's hopes in the 84th minute and sent the Bavarians to the next round, breaking the unbeaten streak of South American clubs against European clubs in the tournament.

The first hour of the match, despite Boca's physical play, was dominated by Bayern. The German team had the ball and attacked with criteria against a Boca team that started nervous and erratic, to the point that they could hardly step on the opponent's half of the field.

The Germans were always looking for the skillful Michael Olise on the right, and he was tireless and always dangerous. He was a nightmare for the Boca defense, as was the other winger, Kingsley Coman.

The Frenchman, in fact, scored off a corner kick in the 8th minute, which was later disallowed by the VAR for a push by Serge Gnabry on Boca goalkeeper Agustín Marchesín.

It mattered little. Because Bayern, in the 18th minute, found the goal through their star striker, Harry Kane. The Englishman put his team ahead with a left-footed shot from inside the box, after taking advantage of a poor clearance by the Boca Juniors defense.

Vincent Kompany's side came close to scoring the second a minute later, but winger Kingsley Koman was inches too close to tap in a low cross from Gnabry. Boca, meanwhile, created very little and did not trouble the Bundesliga champions. However, in an outburst, their first approach came: a dangerous free kick by Carlos Zenon in the 31st minute. Then, in the next sequence, Zenon forced Neuer to make an acrobatic save to prevent a goal.

Boca, although outplayed, was dreaming of getting out of the Bavarian clutches. And they did. Through Alan Velasco, Luis Advíncula and Merentiel, who, inspired by the "Dale Boca, dale bo" chant from the Boca fans, ran onto a perfect long ball. He shook off the Bayern defense and beat Neuer with a cross-shot that caused Hard Rock Stadium to erupt.

Unfortunately for Boca, Bayern won the ball in a sequence that ended up in the left foot of Olise, who delicately put the ball into the net and sentenced a brave and resilient Boca Juniors side.

With a point in Group C, now Boca no longer controls its own destiny to advance to the quarterfinals. Lisbon's Benfica, with four points, could knock out the Buenos Aires-based club in their match against Bayern next matchday with just a draw. However, if Bayern triumphs, achieving all nine possible points, the Argentinians would still have a slim chance of qualifying should they beat Auckland, currently last in the group.