Opposition focus: River Plate
FIFA Club World Cup
— Jun 25th 2025We take a closer look at River Plate, who currently sit level with Inter at the top of Group E
After their draw with Monterrey and victory over Urawa Red Diamonds, Inter are preparing to face River Plate on the third and final matchday of Group E at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. The Nerazzurri will take to the pitch for the decisive clash against the Argentine side at Lumen Field in Seattle on Wednesday 25 June at 18:00 local time (3:00 CEST on 26 June in Italy), with both sides aiming to progress to the knockouts.
It's now time to take a closer look at River Plate, who currently top Group E with four points, level with Inter...
RIVER PLATE'S TWO MATCHES SO FAR
VICTORY OVER URAWA IN OPENER River Plate made an impressive start to their 2025 FIFA Club World Cup campaign. At Lumen Field in Seattle, Los Millonarios ran out 3–1 winners over Urawa Red Diamonds after a performance full of intensity and quality.
Following a commanding start, Marcelo Gallardo's side took the lead through a twelfth-minute header from Colidio. Early in the second half, a defensive error by the Japanese side allowed Driussi to make it 2-0 in the 48th minute. Urawa pulled one back through a penalty from Matsuo (59'), but Meza's finish on the 73-minute mark sealed the win.
RIVER PLATE 3–1 URAWA Goalscorers: 12' Colidio (R), 48' Driussi (R), 59' pen. Matsuo (U), 73' Meza (R) RIVER PLATE (4-3-3): Armani; Montiel, Martinez Quarta, Pezzella, Acuña (89' Casco); Fernández (46' Galoppo), Pérez (46' Meza), Castaño; Mastantuono, Driussi (51' Borja), Colidio (75' Martinez). Head Coach: Gallardo. URAWA RED DIAMONDS (4-2-3-1): Nishikawa; Naganuma (81' Odiwara), Danilo Boza, Hoibraten, Ishihara; Yasui (81' Matsumoto), Gustafson (87' Haraguchi); Kaneko (71' Sekine), Matheus Savio (71' Santana), Watanabe; Matsuo. Head Coach: Skorza. Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER) Booked: 24' Pérez (R), 34' Gustafson (U), 58' Acuña (R), 60' Pezzella (R), 87' Watanabe (U), 92' Galoppo (R)
GOALLESS DRAW AGAINST MONTERREY River Plate played out a goalless draw against Monterrey in their second group match. The Millonarios started with high intensity and immediately threatened through Mastantuono, who won an early corner. From the resulting delivery, Paulo Díaz rose well but couldn't direct his header on target. The Mexican side responded with a long-range effort from Ocampos, before Armani pulled off a crucial save to deny Canales. On the rebound, Arteaga failed to convert. In the 27th minute, Mastantuono was dangerous again with a well-struck free-kick that forced a save from Andrada. Shortly before half-time, Martínez Quarta had a good chance, but his right-footed effort flew over the bar. In the second half, Mastantuono had two more attempts, both kept out by the alert Andrada. Deep into stoppage time, River were reduced to ten men after Castaño was sent off, leaving his side a man down for the final moments of the match.
RIVER PLATE 0-0 MONTERREY RIVER PLATE (4-3-3): Armani; Montiel, Martinez Quarta, Diaz, Acuña; Galoppo (71' Fernandez), Pérez (84' Martinez), Castaño; Mastantuono (84 Kranevitter), Colidio, Meza (71' Borja). Head Coach: Gallardo.
MONTERREY (4-2-3-1): Andrada; Medina, Sergio Ramos, Aguirre, Arteaga; Rodriguez (79' Guzman), Deossa; Corona (64' Rojas), Canales (84' Alvarado), Ocampos (64' De la Rosa); Berterame (64' Ambriz). Head Coach: Torrent.
Referee: Vincic Booked: Enzo Perez (R), Rodriguez (M), Castano (R), Galoppo (R), Meza (R), Ambriz (M), Aguirre (M), Alvarado (M) Sent off: Castano (R).
RIVER PLATE'S SEASON
River Plate are one of South America's most legendary clubs. They qualified for the Club World Cup thanks to their position in the CONMEBOL ranking. Over the course of their illustrious history, they have won 37 Argentine league titles – a national record – and lifted the Copa Libertadores four times, most recently in 2018 after a historic final against fierce rivals Boca Juniors. That 2018 triumph remains the last time an Argentine side have won the competition, which has been dominated by Brazilian clubs since 2019. In 2024, River were knocked out in the semi-finals by Atlético Mineiro, losing 3–0 in the first leg before a goalless draw in the return fixture. In the current 2025 edition, Los Millonarios went unbeaten in the group stage, collecting 12 points thanks to three wins and three draws. These results saw River finish top of Group B, ahead of Universitario, Independiente del Valle and Barcelona de Guayaquil. Looking ahead, River are set to face Paraguayan side Libertad Asunción in the round of 16 in August.
On the domestic front, River Plate reached the quarter-finals of the Argentine Apertura tournament , where they were eliminated by Platense (who went on to win the competition) on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Before this, River had comfortably beaten Barracas Central 3-0 in the round of 16. They finished the regular season with 31 points (eight wins, seven draws, one defeat), earning them second spot in Zone B behind Rosario Central. In the Copa Argentina, Los Millonarios got past Ciudad Bolívar in the first round and will face Club Atlético San Martín in the next stage of the competition.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS
River and Inter have never met competitively, but they did face each other in a friendly in Milano in 1961. That summer, a special international tournament was organised to celebrate the centenary of Italy’s unification. The 'Torneo Italia' featured Inter, Juventus, Napoli, Roma, Racing Paris, River Plate, Santos and Spartak Praha. After a 7–1 victory over Spartak, Inter faced River Plate at San Siro on 21 June 1961 in front of around 75,000 spectators. It was a match that Corriere della Sera described as "fantastic and thrilling". Inter’s starting XI that day was as follows: Da Pozzo, Picchi, Masiero, Zaglio, Guarneri, Balleri, Bicicli, Lindskog, Bettini, Suárez, Corso. The friendly ended in a 1–1 draw. Inter took the lead in the 31st minute through a header from Corso, who converted a cross from Bicicli following quick combination play with Suárez and Zaglio. River equalised in the second half through a free-kick from Moacyr. The draw was enough to send Inter through to the final of the tournament, where they lost 4–1 to Pelé's Santos.
PLAYERS WHO HAVE WORN BOTH SHIRTS
There’s no shortage of players who have represented both clubs over the years. Among the many to have worn both shirts are: Matías Almeyda, Gabriel Batistuta, Esteban Cambiasso, Juan Pablo Carrizo, Hernán Crespo, Julio Cruz, Ramón Díaz, Daniel Passarella, Sixto Peralta, Nelson Rivas, Alexis Sánchez, Santiago Solari and Nelson Vivas.
COACH AND SQUAD
River Plate are coached by Marcelo Gallardo. He's a true club legend, having enjoyed success both as a player and as a coach with Los Millonarios. During his playing career, he won six Argentine league titles, one Copa Libertadores and one Supercopa Libertadores. Between 2014 and 2022, Gallardo guided River to an impressive haul of trophies, both domestically and internationally. His domestic honours include one league title, three Copa Argentina wins, two Supercopa Argentina triumphs and one Trofeo de Campeones de la Liga Profesional. On the international stage, he led the team to two Copa Libertadores titles, one Copa Sudamericana, three Recopa Sudamericana trophies, as well as one Copa Suruga Bank. This remarkable run of success saw Gallardo named South American Coach of the Year in 2018, 2019 and 2020. After a spell in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad, he returned to River Plate in August 2024.
River Plate boast a number of exciting players. Since the start of the Apertura tournament in January, the team's top scorer has been 17-year-old Franco Mastantuono, who has netted seven goals and is widely regarded as a player of immense talent. Just behind him is Colombian striker Miguel Borja, who has scored six goals so far. Borja was the club’s top scorer last season, with an impressive 31 goals in 46 appearances. Also on six goals in 2025 is Facundo Colidio, a forward who previously came through Inter’s youth ranks. Experience in the squad comes from the likes of former West Ham midfielder Manuel Lanzini, World Cup winners Marcos Acuña, Gonzalo Montiel and Germán Pezzella (who once played for Fiorentina), and club captain and goalkeeper Franco Armani, also a World Cup winner with Argentina in Qatar.
SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Armani, Ledesma, Lavagnino, Beltran Defenders: Montiel, Bustos, Pezzella, Gattoni, Diaz, Gonzalez Pirez, Martinez Quarta, Rivero, Acuna, Casco Midfielders: Perez, Castano, Kranevitter, Aliendro, Simon, Meza, Fernandez, Lanzini, Martínez, Rojas, Galoppo, Mastantuono, Lencina, Costantini Forwards: Borja, Colidio, Driussi, Tapia, Subiabre, Dadin.