At Seattle's Lumen Field, River will begin its participation in Group E of the Club World Cup by facingUrawa Red Diamonds from Japan. The Argentine team will seek to start off on the right foot and earn three vital points to move closer to the round of 16 of the tournament.
Prior to the match, Genki Haraguchi, a midfielder with experience in the Bundesliga, analyzed Marcelo Gallardo's team and highlighted the aspect they plan to exploit: "If we take advantage of the gaps they leave in defense, I think we have a chance," warned the 34-year-old midfielder, focusing on the defensive lapses that River has shown both domestically and in the Copa Libertadores.
Haraguchi considera que River está flojo en defensa
The Japanese footballer praised the Millonario's offensive potential, but also considered it a possible weakness: "It's a team that attacks a lot, they think about attacking with a 7 against 3. In general, the level of each player is very high. The entire defense and the goalkeepers are players from the Argentina National Team," he pointed out.
He also made special mention of the young Franco Mastantuono, who will play this tournament before moving to Real Madrid: "There is a 17-year-old talent and it's a team with such talented players who attack with great aggressiveness, so it will be difficult to defend against them," Haraguchi acknowledged.
Meanwhile, Brazilian Matheus Sávio, another key player for the Japanese team, also spoke about the match against River: "I've watched several Copa Libertadores matches and I think Mastantuono is a great player. But what's important is the collective work. We shouldn't focus only on him. There are also Nacho Fernández and Miguel Borja. If we want to compete, we must maintain intensity and effort as a team throughout the entire match, both in attack and in defense."
