Group E of the Club World Cup opens with the clash between River and Urawa Red Diamonds. This match will be crucial for the Millonario if it wants to start with a good number of points before closing against Inter de Milan, the toughest opponent in this group.
River comes into this match with a bittersweet feeling. Although it secured its qualification for the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores, the 1-1 draw with Universitario at home (its last official match almost three weeks ago) once again exposed the defensive weaknesses of the Millonario's backline. In addition, it couldn't win the Torneo Apertura, as it was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Platense on penalties after drawing 1-1 in regulation time.
River quiere mejorar el rendimiento visto ante Universitario
Meanwhile, Urawa Red Diamonds arrive a bit fresher than the Núñez club, since it played its last official match just over two weeks ago. That match was in the J League and ended in a victory for the Reds by 2-1 against Yokohama FC, placing them in fourth place in the standings.
Los Reds llegan con una victoria con el torneo
River's record against Japanese teams and Urawa's against Argentine teams
This match will be the first time they face each other, but bothhave a history against teams from the countries they represent.
The Millonario played three official matches against Japanese teams, and all were victories: 3-0 against Gamba Osaka in the 2015 Suruga Bank, 1-0 against Sanfrecce Hiroshima in that year's Club World Cup, and 4-0 against Kashima Antlers in the third-place match of the 2018 Club World Cup. In addition, it played another three friendlies that also ended in victory: 3-1 against Mitsubishi FC in 1970, 3-2 against Yokohama Marinos in 1994, and 1-0 against Shimizu S-Pulse in the 2007 Peace Cup.
El último partido de River con un japonés fue una goleada 4-0
Meanwhile, the Reds faced Argentine teams on three occasions, all of them in friendly matches: a loss to Independiente in 1994 (there is no official record of the exact result), a 5-3 loss to Independiente in the 1995 Recopa Sudamericana, and a 5-2 loss to Boca in the 2004 Vodafone Cup.
Urawa no juega con un equipo argentino hace 21 años
Time and TV
River's debut in the Club World Cup against Urawa Red Diamonds will be at 16:00 at Lumen Field Stadium in Seattle. The match will be broadcast by DSports, Telefe, Disney+ Premium, and DAZN, the latter completely free on its official website.
Possible Lineups
River (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: Franco Armani
Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel, Lucas Martínez Quarta, Paulo Díaz, and Marcos Acuña
Midfielders: Kevin Castaño, Enzo Pérez, Ignacio Fernández or Maxi Meza, and Franco Mastantuono
Forwards: Facundo Colidio and Sebastián Driussi
Urawa Red Diamonds (4-5-1)
Goalkeeper: Shusaku Nishikawa
Defenders: Hirokazu Ishiihara, Danilo Boza, Marius Hoibraten, and Takuya Ogiwara
