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Badges of the soccer teams River Plate and Urawa Red Diamonds on a red background
River and Urawa Red Diamonds open Group E | Camara La Derecha Diario
ARGENTINA

River - Urawa Red Diamonds: time, TV, line-ups, history, and each team's current form

The Millionaire begins its journey in the Club World Cup against a Japanese team that has already taken note of its defensive problems

by

Editorial Team

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.

Two players compete for the ball during a match in a stadium full of spectators.
River wants to improve the performance shown against Universitario | La Derecha Diario

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.

Soccer players in red uniforms celebrate a goal while one holds the ball and they run on the field, with fans and a red flag in the background.
The Reds arrive with a victory in the tournament | La Derecha Diario

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.

River Plate players celebrate a goal in front of an opposing team player with the goal net in the background.
River's last match against a Japanese team was a 4-0 thrashing | La Derecha Diario

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.

Boca Juniors player in a blue and yellow jersey dodges two opponents dressed in red during a match.
Urawa hasn't played against an Argentine team for 21 years | La Derecha Diario

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
  • Midfielders: Kaito Yasui, Samuel Gustafson; Takuro Kaneko, Matheus Savio, Ryoma Watanabe
  • Forwards: Yusuke Matsuo

Referee Team

  • Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER)
  • Assistant referee 1: Robert Kempter (GER)
  • Assistant referee 2: Christian Dietz (GER)
  • Fourth official: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (NZL)
  • VAR: Bastian Dankert (GER)
  • AVAR: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
  • SVAR: Hamza El Fariq (MAR)
➡️ Argentina

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