17 Dec 2014

Sport: Oceania champions Auckland City keen for fairytale to continue

11:47 am on 17 December 2014

The prospect of playing against the footballing galacticos of Real Madrid is now tantalisingly close for Auckland City.

Having qualified for the semi finals of the Club World Cup in Morocco, Oceania champions Auckland will play Argentina's South American title holders San Lorenzo in the final four in Marrakech on Thursday.

A win would setup a final against Spanish giants Madrid who beat CONCACAF champions Cruz Azul from Mexico 4-0 in the first semi final.

Defender Darren White says they have nothing to lose.

"As we know now, anything can happen in football. No one thought they were going to be in this situation that we're in now so being the underdogs is always a good motivator so we will see what happens".

Auckland City could double their prize money to US$4 million if they progress to the final, with third place receiving US$2.5m.