River Plate see off Urawa to make winning start at Club World Cup

SEATTLE – Thanks to a strong support amid much difficulty, River Plate overcame a spirited Urawa Red Diamonds 3-1 on June 17 to make a strong start in Club World Cup Group E.

The Argentinian side overpowered their Japanese opponents at Lumen Field under the Seattle sun, in an entertaining battle.

Under 12,000 fans attended the clash at the 69,000-capacity stadium but those who were there, many travelling from Japan and Argentina, created a vibrant atmosphere at both ends of the stadium.

“Thanks to all River fans, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy to get all the way to here, it’s a very long journey, there’s no direct flights,” said striker Facundo Colidio, who opened the scoring for River Plate.

“Nevertheless they made it, they were here and they were amazing with their support throughout the game... The venue was really tricky, it’s not close to Argentina.

“We needed to start the tournament like this and we knew we could do it, but it was a tough game like we knew it was going to be.”

All six South American teams that have played in the expanded Club World Cup thus far have stayed undefeated.

Marcelo Gallardo’s River started the stronger and took the lead when Colidio powered a header home from former Sevilla defender Marcos Acuna’s cross.

New Real Madrid signing Franco Mastantuono almost created a second for River, with the 17-year-old teeing up Nacho Fernandez, but the midfielder’s drive flew narrowly off target.

The Argentinian, who will join Real after the tournament, was otherwise quieter than expected.

The Red Diamonds, who won the Asian Champions League in 2022 to qualify as the only Japanese team at the tournament, shot themselves in the foot at the start of the second half.

Marius Hoibraaten sent a foolish back-header towards goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa, without noticing Sebastian Driussi sneaking in behind.

The striker bravely nodded home past the helpless stopper but hurt himself as he fell and had to be replaced.

Yusuke Matsuo pulled the Red Diamonds back into the game from the penalty spot, but Maximiliano Meza put the game to bed for River with a header from Acuna’s corner after he was left unmarked.

“Unfortunately we lost today but we’re going to learn a lot and take that into the next match,” said Matsuo.

Urawa coach Maciej Skorza was unhappy with the defeat.

“The result is disappointing, what can I say?” he mused.

“We’ve done a lot of work, put in a lot of effort, and the beginning of this game was far from what we expected. The second half was better but the ease with which we conceded was too much.”

In another game, Mamelodi Sundowns got off to a winning start with a 1-0 victory over South Korean side Ulsan HD in a match delayed by a weather warning and played before largely empty stands.

Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso’s Mamelodi have won the South African top flight for eight consecutive seasons but finished as runners-up in the CAF Champions League final earlier in June.

They claimed victory through Iqraam Rayners’ first-half goal. AFP, REUTERS