River Plate kicked off their FIFA Club World Cup Group E campaign in style, securing a 3-1 victory over Urawa Red Diamonds in a commanding performance at Lumen Field, Seattle.
Despite the sparse crowd of just under 12,000 fans in the 69,000-seat stadium, the atmosphere was electric — fueled by passionate supporters who traveled thousands of miles from Argentina and Japan to support their clubs.
“We knew it wouldn’t be easy to get here. It’s a long journey with no direct flights,” said Facundo Colidio, River Plate’s opening goal scorer. “But the River fans were amazing. They made the difference.”
River Plate, under the guidance of Marcelo Gallardo, dominated early proceedings and opened the scoring when Colidio powered in a header from Marcos Acuña’s pinpoint cross — the former Sevilla man proving decisive in both halves.
The victory continues South America’s unbeaten streak in the newly expanded Club World Cup, with all six participating teams from the continent yet to suffer a defeat — further underlining the region’s depth and pedigree on the global stage.
While River dictated the tempo early, Urawa Red Diamonds gradually grew into the match. Goalkeeper Franco Armani was called into action to deny Yusuke Matsuo, though the Japanese forward had strayed offside.
Seventeen-year-old Franco Mastantuono, River’s prodigious talent who has already secured a future move to Real Madrid, nearly assisted a second goal when he teed up Nacho Fernandez — but the midfielder’s strike drifted just wide.
The Japanese side’s promising momentum unraveled early in the second half when Marius Hoibraaten’s careless back-header failed to spot Sebastian Driussi lurking. The alert River striker pounced, nodding home past a stunned Shusaku Nishikawa to double the lead — though he suffered a knock in the process and was substituted.
Urawa responded with spirit, and Matsuo converted from the penalty spot after Takuro Kaneko was clumsily bundled over by Acuña in the box. Matsuo sent Armani the wrong way to offer the Red Diamonds a lifeline.
However, any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Maximiliano Meza ghosted into the box unmarked to head home River’s third, again from an Acuña set piece — sealing the win and capping a man-of-the-match performance from the Argentine full-back.
With three points secured, River Plate take an early lead in Group E, while Urawa Red Diamonds will now be playing catch-up.
Later tonight, Champions League runners-up Inter Milan will face Mexican powerhouse Monterrey at the iconic Rose Bowl in Pasadena — a clash that could further shake up the group standings.
Credit Photo : River Plate
