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.
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