About 30,000 River Plate fans created a carnival-like atmosphere in distant Seattle, but the Club World Cup will now be poorer without them, as almost everything that could go wrong for the Monumental giants did go wrong. While not much was expected from Boca, expectations were high for River—but their lack of efficiency proved costly… River missed their key opportunity in the second round against Monterrey, where they were the better team, but the Mexicans held firm, forced a 0–0 draw, and earned a chance to control their own destiny in the final round.Highlights: Inter Milan 2-0 River Plate at Lumen Field.Goals: Esposito & Bastoni.River’s Lucas Martínez Quarta sent off-66th minute for bringing down Mkhitaryan. Montiel sent off for two yellow cards after a fracas in added time.Attendance: 45,135pic.twitter.com/sER8FC4WrP— Kyama ⚽ (@ElijahKyama_) June 26, 2025 Because of that match, River’s coach Marcelo Gallardo had to seriously reshuffle his team and come out weakened. In the first round, he had already lost first-choice striker Driussi to a serious injury, and after the Monterrey game, he was left without his entire midfield (Perez, Galoppo, Castano) due to suspensions. He switched to a 4-3-3, started with Borja as a classic striker, moved Colidio to the left wing, and Mastantuono operated as usual on the right, bidding an unfortunate farewell to the jersey of his beloved club. On the other side, the only surprise was young Francesco Pio Esposito starting up front alongside Lautaro, though this was a forced move due to the absence of injured Thuram and unavailable Taremi.River started the match at a high tempo, aggressively pressing and going into hard challenges, not allowing Inter to easily play out from the back—exactly what Kivu had planned. It seemed the tempo suited the Argentinians more than the Italians. River slowly pulled Inter into their rough game and nervousness, even though a draw suited the Nerazzurri better. In attack, the Millonarios tried to bypass midfield quickly and reach Inter’s goal in just a few moves, but it rarely worked. Mastantuono had a decent shot that Sommer saved, and River placed most of their hopes on set pieces, which Inter defended well. On the other side, young Esposito found himself in two promising positions: one was blocked, and he was late to the other cross. But it was Inter who opened the second half much better. Lautaro hit the post right away, and then Armani saved a clear-cut chance. The Argentinians started to fall apart… Gallardo tried to respond with substitutions, bringing in the more creative Manuel Lanzini and Nacho Fernandez, and Colidio had a big chance—but that was about it. Inter grew increasingly dominant and easily exploited cracks in River’s back line. From one such moment, the turning point of the match came midway through the second half. Mkhitaryan broke free on a counterattack, Lucas Martínez Quarta was late with the tackle as the last man and was rightly sent off. From that moment, River was psychologically defeated—and soon on the scoreboard as well.CWC: Yellows from Borussia move on, Mamelodi’s Sundowns turned into nightIt was all over in the 71st minute. About ten minutes after coming on, Inter’s summer signing from Dinamo, Petar Sučić, spotted a gap and played a lovely pass to send Esposito through, and the young Italian finished. Inter comfortably held the lead until the end and doubled it in stoppage time after a solo run by Bastoni. In the end, the Argentinians couldn’t handle the loss with sportsmanship—Montiel was sent off, and Acuna chased after Dumfries down the tunnel looking for a fight. Fans joined in by throwing objects from the stands, prompting a security intervention. A shameful display by the Argentines… The Nerazzurri achieved their goal and go through to the Round of 16 as group winners, where they’ll be favorites against Fluminense. River failed to score against direct rivals and are out, while Monterrey exceeded expectations and have reasons to be hopeful against Borussia Dortmund—especially with the fantastic support they’ve had in the stands since the start of the tournament.FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2025WednesdayEsperance – Chelsea 0-3 (0-1)/Adarabioyo 45+3, Delap 45+5, George 90+7/Los Angeles – Flamengo 1-1 (0-0)/Bouanga 84 – Wallace Yan 86/Dortmund – Ulsan 1-0 (1-0)/Svensson 36/Mamelodi – Fluminense 0-0ThursdayInter Milan – River Plate 2-0 (0-0)/Espozito 72, Bastoni 90+2/Urawa RD – Monterrey 0-4 (0-3)/Berterame 34, 90+7, Deossa 30, Corona 39/22:00: (4.40) Juventus (3.50) Man.City (1.85)22:00: (2.55) Wydad Casablanca (3.35) Al Ain (2.75)Friday04:00: (1.48) Al Hilal (4.40) Pachuca (6.75)04:00: (9.00) Salzburg (5.90) Real Madrid (1.30)***odds are subject to change***
