CA River Plate 3-1 Urawa Red Diamonds | Group E
CA River Plate Goals: Facundo Colidio (12), Sebastian Driussi (48), Maximiliano Meza (73)
Urawa Red Diamonds Goal: Yusuke Matsuo 58 (pen)
River Plate made a perfect start by holding off a spirited, second-half comeback from Urawa Red Diamonds in their FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ opener in Seattle.
River had already given notice of intent when Sebastian Driussi cracked an effort off the inside of the post, and they took a 12th-minute lead when Facundo Colidio powerfully headed Marcos Acuna’s excellent cross into the net.
Urawa recovered from their sluggish start, however, and Norwegian defender Marius Hoibraten had a first-half header ruled out for offside as they finished the first 45 minutes strongly.
River doubled their advantage shortly after the restart, when Hoibraten allowed Driussi to bravely head in and was clattered by Urawa keeper Shusaku Nishikawa for his troubles. He had to go off straight after the goal.
The Japanese side were given a lifeline when Yusuke Matsuo converted a penalty after Acuna blocked Takuro Kaneko in the box, but a late header from Maximiliano Meza sealed it for the Argentinians.
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Both teams play their next match on Saturday 21 June. River Plate entertain CF Monterrey in Los Angeles, while Urawa Red Diamonds face FC Internazionale Milano in Seattle.
Quotes
“It was important to get three points from the start. They are a physical and very hard-working team, we knew it was going to be like that. We hit them at the right time and the goals gave us peace of mind.” Marcelo Gallardo, River Plate coach.
“It was essential to start by winning. The opening match is always very important and of course a win is vital. I think we played well right from the start of the game.
Facundo Colidio, River Plate first scorer and Man of the Match.
“We weren’t able to play as we had prepared at the start and couldn’t get into a rhythm. After about 20 minutes, we started to get our groove, but we conceded a goal early on in the second half. I thought we controlled the game after we scored, but the third goal put us in a difficult situation.”
Maciej Skorza, Urawa Red Diamonds coach.
Michelob Ultra Superior Player of the Match
Facundo Colidio (River Plate)
