Group E of the FIFA Club World Cup begins with the Argentine side River Plate taking on the team from Japan, Urawa Red Diamonds, at the Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. The match kicks off at 3 PM local time (17th June), whereas it’s 12:30 AM IST (18th June). There are a lot of top Footballers to watch in the River Plate vs Urawa Red Diamonds game.
River Plate has a lot of young players in their team with great potential, one being Franco Mastantuono, who has already secured a spot on Real Madrid’s team for next season, starting in August. On the other hand, Urawa Red Diamonds are currently in fourth position in the Japanese League, and there are still a lot of matches left in the league.
Top Footballers to watch in River Plate vs Urawa Red Diamonds
Argentina has always produced a lot of talent in the world of football, with Lionel Messi being the best of them all. It is a good platform for the youngsters to show their best game. There are also a lot of young players playing in the Japanese league. Let us look at the key players of both teams:
River Plate
Franco Mastantuono
The young attacking midfielder will bid farewell to his team as this is his last competition playing for River Plate. He is signed by the European kings, Real Madrid.
This tournament will surely be where he will want to show his game to the fans as well as the coach of Real Madrid. Excellent at dribbling, and his free kicks are just too good, and he is just 17.
Gonzalo Montiel
If you are a true fan from Argentina who surely remembers who Gonzalo Montiel is. He was the player who took the winning penalty for Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final.
The 28-year-old right back joined River Plate at the start of this year. His attacking burst on the right flank with overlapping runs is the key highlight of his game.
Urawa Red Diamonds
Shusaku Nishikawa
He will surely be one of the oldest players on the pitch. The 38-year-old goalkeeper started his professional career at the age of 19. This is his 11th year with Urawa Red Diamonds.
He makes things easy for his defenders by regularly communicating with them. Shusaku Nishikawa also has more than 30 appearances for the Japan National Team.
Takahiro Sekine
The Captain of this team has spent most of his career with the Urawa Red Diamonds. With his pace, he has the ability to easily beat the defenders, but Inter’s defence will surely be a big test for him.
Due to his work rate and consistent performances, Takahiro Sekine is one of the important figures in the team.
Predicted lineups
Apart from Pirez, all the squad players are available for the coach of River Plate to select his starting eleven from. While there are no injuries or suspensions to any player of the Urawa Red Diamonds team.
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Urawa Red Diamonds expected XI: (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper – Shusaku Nishikawa
Defenders – Takahiro Ishihara, Jose Boza, Marius Hoibraten, Riku Ogiwara
Midfielder – Takuya Yasui and Pontus Gustafson
Attackers – Takahiro Sekine, Yoshio Watanabe, Savio, and Yoshio Matsuo
River Plate expected XI: (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper – Franco Armani
Defenders – Gonzalo Montiel, Lucas Martinez Quarta, Paulo Diaz, and Marcos Acuna
Midfielder – Rodrigo Castano, Enzo Perez, and Ezequiel Fernandez
Attackers – Franco Mastantuono, Sebastian Driussi, and Facundo Colidio
Betting tips
- Tip 1 – Franco Mastantuono to score a goal or assist
In the 19 games that he has played this season, Franco has managed to score seven times and assist four times. He will be a threat down the right wing for the opponents. We can expect him to have a great game of football.
- Tip 2 – River Plate to win
Football is always unpredictable, and it is fair to say. River Plate has a better team, and they will win the match. We won’t see a high-scoring game, but anything around 2-0 can be the score of the game.
