River Plate netted a trio of headers to defeat Urawa Red Diamonds 3-1 on Tuesday in the teams’ Group E opener of the Club World Cup in Seattle.
Facundo Colidio struck first for Argentina’s River Plate (1-0-0, 3 points) with a header in the 12th minute assisted by a precise cross from Marcos Acuna. River Plate doubled its lead shortly after halftime with a goal by Sebastian Driussi.
Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds (0-1-0, 0 points) cut the deficit to 2-1 with a 58th-minute penalty kick converted by Yusuke Matsuo, but Maximiliano Meza quickly regained River Plate’s two-goal lead in the 73rd minute.
River Plate controlled the ball throughout, possessing it for nearly 60 percent of the match and attempting 13 shots to Urawa Red Diamonds’ nine. Franco Armani tallied five saves on the day for River Plate, while Shusaku Nishikawa notched two for Urawa Red Diamonds.
–Field Level Media
