Overview
Auckland FC is a young team, founded in March 2024 and only played their first official match in the A-League in October of the same year. Right in their debut season, they made a splash when they defeated Brisbane Roar 2-0 in the opening match, before finishing at the top of the A-League table with 53 points after 26 matches, including 15 wins, 8 draws and only 3 defeats.
Although unable to win the championship after losing to Melbourne Victory 1-2 in the semi-finals of the play-offs, Auckland continued to affirm their progress in the next season. Coach Steve Corica's team only ranked third in the group stage but played explosively in the play-offs to win the first A-League championship in history.
On the coronation journey, Auckland overcame Melbourne City on penalties, defeated Adelaide United 4-1 in the semi-finals and defeated Sydney FC 1-0 in the final.
Steve Corica aims to continue to maintain the team's development momentum in the 2026-2027 season. The reception of Tottenham Hotspur will be the starting point for Auckland's preparation process before the new season.
Meanwhile, Tottenham has entered the pre-season phase when the 2026-2027 Premier League is less than a month away from kicking off.
Coach Roberto De Zerbi's team opened the tour with a 1-0 victory over MK Dons in the middle of the week. Newcomer Mateus Fernandes was the only scorer with a beautiful volley right in the third minute.
De Zerbi brought 35 players to Australia and New Zealand with the goal of completing the squad after two consecutive seasons only finishing in 17th place in the Premier League.
New signings such as Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali, Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke and Martin Dubravka are all on the list to participate in the tour, as Tottenham expects to soon stabilize their forces to aim for a brighter season.
Personnel situation
Coach Steve Corica is likely to field the strongest squad in the pre-season friendly match with Tottenham. Therefore, Auckland's starting lineup is predicted to not have many changes compared to the faces who helped this team defeat Sydney FC in the A-League play-off final.
However, the Australian strategist is expected to take advantage of the match to test personnel, giving opportunities to many reserve players and young talents in the second half.
On the other side of the front line, Tottenham will not have the services of Pedro Porro, Djed Spence, Marcos Senesi and Mohamed Kudus due to injury or need to rest after the 2026 World Cup.
New signings such as Andy Robertson, Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and Jan Paul van Hecke are all likely to be started by Roberto De Zerbi. Meanwhile, Dominic Solanke and Conor Gallagher are highly likely to continue to be in the starting lineup after their impressive performance in the 1-0 victory over MK Dons.
Expected lineup:
Auckland FC: Woud, Sakai, Vicelich, Carey, Pijnaker, Elliot, Howieson, Bayliss, Gallegos, Brook, Cosgrove.
Tottenham: Kinsky, Gray, Van Hecke, Davies, Robertson, Fernandes, Tonali, Yang, Gallagher, Tel, Solanke.
The match between Auckland and Tottenham takes place at 10:00 on July 26 (Vietnam time).
