Stormy weather didn’t spare mighty Bayern’s flair

Harry Kane and Bayern Munich were thrown off course ahead of their Club World Cup showdown with Flamengo, as severe weather conditions in Florida disrupted their travel itinerary. The Bundesliga champions only needed a short hop from Orlando to Miami, where they were scheduled to face the Brazilian giants in the tournament’s last-16 at Hard Rock Stadium — but nature had other plans.

Bayern’s departure was scheduled for 5:40 p.m. on Saturday, providing ample time to settle in before kickoff. Instead, they remained stuck on the tarmac for nearly two hours due to a slow-moving storm system sweeping across South Florida, originating in Orlando and heading toward Miami.

This wasn't Bayern's first brush with unpredictable weather during the competition. Their group match against Boca Juniors also suffered a delay, with kickoff postponed by an hour because of another storm.

Head coach Vincent Kompany reflected on the challenges posed by such unpredictable events, telling BILD: “It sounds strange, but since Covid, we've been prepared for anything. Back then, we were suddenly missing six players, and we had to change our game plan. I grew up as a coach during that time. That's why everything is a bit more relaxed now. We usually travel very well in America. But you can't change the weather, and it cost us an hour's delay.”

Bayern started their Club World Cup campaign in emphatic fashion, dismantling Auckland City 10-0. But their path got rockier from there — a narrow 2-1 win over Boca, thanks to a late goal, followed by a 1-0 defeat to Benfica in their final group stage outing.

FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2025

1/8 finals

Saturday

Palmeiras - Botafogo 1-0 AET (0-0)

/Paulinho 10/

Benfica - Chelsea 1-4 AET (1-1)

/Di Maria 90+5 pen - James 64, Nkunku 108, Neto 114, Dewsbury-Hall 117/

Sunday

19.00: (1.22) PSG (7.00) Inter Miami (11.0)

23.00: (5.30) Flamengo (3.60) Bayern (1.70)

Monday

19.00: (1.80) Inter (3.50) Fluminense (4.70)

Tuesday

04.00: (1.35) Manchester City (5.00) Al-Hilal (9.00)

22.00: (1.67) Real Madrid (3.70) Juventus (5.50)

Wednesday

04.00: (1.80) Dortmund (3.60) Monterrey (4.60)

***odds are subject to change***