Inter Milan beat River Plate to win Group E of the Club World Cup

Inter Milan defeated River Plate, won first place in Group E of the Club World Cup - photo 1 — Inter Milan will meet Fluminense in the round of 16

Red card decides the game

The match was played at a high tempo and was a tight affair for over an hour, until the turning point in the 65th minute: Lucas Martínez Quarta was sent off straight away for a foul on Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the last defender role. The situation left River with only 10 men on the pitch and they paid the price exactly 7 minutes later.

Francesco Esposito, the 19-year-old making his second appearance for Inter, took the opportunity to shine.

Receiving a smart pass from Petar Sucic, the striker skillfully handled the ball, eliminated two River defenders, then finished neatly, defeating goalkeeper Franco Armani, opening the score in the 72nd minute.

This was also Esposito's first goal for Inter, after scoring 17 goals for Spezia in Serie B last season.

The decisive goal came in stoppage time, when centre-back Alessandro Bastoni suddenly rose and fired a decisive shot from outside the box, doubling the gap for the Serie A representative.

The victory helped Inter take the top spot in the table with 7 points after 3 matches, 1 point more than Monterrey (Mexico) and eliminated River Plate from the tournament when the Argentine team only won 5 points.

World Cup dream over, River leaves in chaos

River Plate put in a spirited performance, especially in the first half, where they played an open game with Inter. Young talent Mastantuono, who is set to move to Real Madrid, was a rare bright spot with a dangerous long-range shot early in the game.

River's clearest chance came in the 63rd minute when Colidio, a former member of Inter's youth system, headed in from close range but was denied by goalkeeper Sommer. However, after Quarta's red card, the game quickly swung in Inter's favour.

In stoppage time, the atmosphere of the match became tense when Gonzalo Montiel was shown a second red card after he had received two yellow cards for his reaction. After the final whistle, defender Acuña also tried to rush Denzel Dumfries, forcing security forces to intervene to prevent the conflict from erupting further.

Inter advance, Brazil win all

With this victory, Inter will meet Fluminense in the round of 16, taking place in Charlotte on June 30. Notably, all four Brazilian representatives are present in the knockout round, proving the strong return of samba football.

Meanwhile, River Plate left the tournament with great disappointment. There was no “secret agreement” as previously rumored, and Argentine football will not have any representatives in the later stages of the 2025 Club World Cup.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/inter-milan-danh-bai-river-plate-gianh-ngoi-nhat-bang-e-club-world-cup-146271.html