River Plate and Inter Milan are neck and neck on four points in Club World Cup Group E—and their meeting on Wednesday at Lumen Field will be a straight shootout for the top spot.
After a frustrating start to the tournament, Inter finally picked up their first win by edging past Urawa Red Diamonds, while River Plate held Monterrey to a goalless draw in their second match. That draw was just enough to keep the Argentine side at the top of the group on goal difference.
Inter boss Cristian Chivu picked up his first win as head coach in dramatic fashion. After a sluggish opening game against Monterrey, his team nearly suffered the same fate against Urawa. The Japanese side struck early through Ryoma Watanabe, and Inter couldn’t find an answer before halftime.
But captain Lautaro Martínez stepped up to level things, and then two youngsters delivered the winning moment: 19-year-old Francesco Pio Esposito set up Valentín Carboni, who calmly placed the ball into the far corner to seal the win—and keep Inter’s hopes alive.
Now, Inter are two points ahead of Monterrey and four clear of Urawa, who are already out. A draw with goals would be enough to send the Italians through, but a win would guarantee them top spot in the group—something that was expected of them from the start.
If they do finish first, they’re currently on course to meet Borussia Dortmund (second in Group F) in the round of 16—but for now, their focus is just on getting the job done.
River Plate, meanwhile, are in the exact same position. They lead the group only by a narrow goal difference, helped by their 3-1 win over Urawa in their opener. However, they couldn’t repeat that attacking success against Monterrey last weekend.
Despite dominating the game—posting 18 shots and generating an expected goals tally of 1.68 to Monterrey’s 0.13—River couldn’t find a breakthrough. Young star Franco Mastantuono and his teammates just couldn’t get past Sergio Ramos’s well-organized defense.
Still, River are in a good spot. Like Inter, a win or a draw with goals will send them through. Even a loss might be enough if Monterrey fail to beat Urawa.
River have been in excellent form, losing just once in their last 19 matches. However, they’ll be hoping for a better result this time around than the last time they faced an Italian side—when they lost 1-0 to Juventus in the 1996 Intercontinental Cup final. Ironically, current head coach Marcelo Gallardo was on the bench for River that day.
INJURIES & SUSPENSION
Of course! Here's a more natural, human-style rewrite of that passage:
Inter Milan are still dealing with a packed treatment room heading into their third Club World Cup match. A number of key players missed the 2-1 win over Urawa Red Diamonds, including Hakan Çalhanoğlu (thigh), Denzel Dumfries (muscle), Davide Frattesi (muscle), Marcus Thuram (flexor), Piotr Zieliński (calf), Benjamin Pavard, and Yann Bisseck (thigh).
There is some good news, though—Dumfries, Çalhanoğlu, and Frattesi are reportedly close to returning and could be fit in time for the clash in Seattle. The others are expected to remain sidelined until at least the knockout stage—if Inter get that far.
Manager Cristian Chivu will have the option to bring back a couple of fresh legs as well, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alessandro Bastoni both rested last time out and ready to return. Up front, Sebastiano Esposito is likely to continue leading the line in place of the injured Marcus Thuram—his younger brother Francesco helped create the winner against Urawa.
As for River Plate, they’re facing their own selection crisis—though for disciplinary rather than medical reasons. Three midfielders—Kevin Castaño, Enzo Pérez, and Giuliano Galoppo—are all suspended for this decisive fixture.
Castaño was sent off against Monterrey after two yellow cards, while Pérez and Galoppo each picked up their second bookings of the tournament, earning a one-match ban.
That leaves head coach Marcelo Gallardo with some major reshuffling to do in the middle of the park. One constant, though, will be teenage star Franco Mastantuono, who is expected to continue on the right flank—just weeks after sealing a move to Real Madrid.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Sommer; De Vrij, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Esposito, Martinez
River Plate possible starting lineup:
Armani; Montiel, Martinez Quarta, Diaz; Acuna; Fernandez, Kranevitter, Aliendro; Mastantuono, Colidio, Meza
EXPERT PREDICTIONS
Inter Milan 2-0 River Plate
