Inter on Wednesday kept their cool to beat nine-man River Plate 2-0 and reach the FIFA Club World Cup last 16, while Mexican side Monterrey followed them through from Group E.
Borussia Dortmund defeated Ulsan HD 1-0 to claim the top spot in Group F. The Germans are to face Sergio Ramos’ Monterrey, who thrashed Urawa Red Diamonds 4-0.
Argentine powerhouses River Plate were eliminated after their defeat by Inter, who would take on more South American opposition on Monday next week in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the shape of Fluminense.
Photo: Reuters
The Brazilian side could only draw 0-0 against South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, but it was enough to claim second place behind Dortmund.
Champions League runners-up Inter faced a battle in Seattle against an aggressive River Plate side who had Lucas Martinez and Gonzalo Montiel sent off in front of 45,000 fans at Lumen Field.
Francesco Esposito scored his first Inter goal to put the Italians ahead and Alessandro Bastoni made the game safe late on for Christian Chivu’s side.
“In the first half we were surprised by their intensity, aggression and pressure,” Chivu said. “Then in the second half we raised our level of intensity ... we’re strong, confident and have players who can play such a game.”
With Monterrey ahead against Urawa, River needed a winner to progress, but their job got harder when Martinez was sent off after 66 minutes for hacking down veteran Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Six minutes later teenage striker Esposito steered home the opener to leave River on the brink.
Bastoni ensured Inter’s progress as he drilled home, before River’s Gonzalo Montiel picked up a second yellow and was dismissed.
There were ugly scenes at the end as River fans threw objects at Inter players leaving the pitch.
Both Argentine teams at the tournament, River and their rivals Boca Juniors, have been eliminated despite their fans creating vibrant atmospheres.
“It’s a shame for all the people who came en masse to watch the team that we couldn’t give them the chance to keep going,” disappointed River coach Marcelo Gallardo said.
Three goals in a nine-minute first-half spell helped Monterrey defeat Urawa at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, in front of a crowd of just 14,000.
Nelson Deossa smashed home a spectacular long-distance effort to open the scoring and German Berterame rolled the second in at the far post.
Former Porto winger Jesus Corona walloped home the third, and Berterame struck again late on, as the Japanese side departed with three defeats.
Monterrey face Dortmund in Atlanta on Tuesday next week.
A solitary first-half goal by Daniel Svensson earned Dortmund top spot in Group F in sweltering Cincinnati heat.
Their second consecutive victory by a one-goal margin, following their 4-3 defeat of Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday, was watched by a little more than 8,000 spectators in Cincinnati, among them Ohio-native US Vice President J.D. Vance and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Dortmund coach Niko Kovac has spoken regularly at the tournament about the difficulties posed by the searing June heat in the US.
“What the boys are doing is incredible. Thirty-six degrees Celsius and 43°C in the stadium,” he said.
The 2025 International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Mr Universe Chinese Taipei competition began yesterday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, with more than 150 athletes showcasing their physiques. It is the first time in 16 years that the IFBB has held a competition in Taiwan, the last being the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. The professional bodybuilding contest is bringing together athletes from Taiwan and 16 other countries, including Malaysia, Japan, the US, France and Mexico. IFBB Chinese Taipei president Hsu An-chin said in an interview yesterday that the event came to Taiwan thanks to his lobbying efforts at last
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Cycling great Marianne Vos won the opening stage of the women’s Tour de France with a brilliant late attack on Saturday. The 38-year-old Dutchwoman overtook her Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prevot approaching the line, and then held off Mauritian rider Kim Le Court in the closing meters of a grueling uphill finish. Ferrand-Prevot looked set to win the stage, but the Frenchwoman attacked too early from 600m and could not withstand the late surge from Vos, who punched the air with her left fist as she crossed the line. Moments later, Vos hugged an exhausted-looking Ferrand-Prevot, the Paris-Roubaix winner. “I didn’t know if
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
RSS