Carboni bags stoppage - time winner against Urawa

Inter character and Inter heart. The Nerazzurri showed real determination to come from behind and return to winning ways, with Valentin Carboni bagging a stoppage-time winner with his first goal for the First Team. It had seemed like one of those cursed matches. Despite a bright start, Inter fell behind in the twelfth minute to a goal from Watanabe. Chivu’s men dominated possession throughout a difficult first half but failed to create clear-cut chances. The second half saw a noticeable shift in intensity. Inter poured forward, piling pressure on Urawa Red Diamonds. At a wet and windy Lumen Field in Seattle, the Japanese side’s resistance finally broke. A stunning overhead kick from Lautaro Martínez brought Inter level, after which Chivu’s side pushed relentlessly for a winner. This arrived at the death: Urawa failed to adequately clear a Bastoni cross, Sucic’s effort was blocked, and Valentin Carboni pounced on the loose ball before firing into the bottom corner with his right foot.

A goal worth three points, and one that takes Inter to four points in Group E of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. The Nerazzurri remain firmly in contention for a place to the round of 16, with qualification set to be decided in their final group fixture against River Plate at Lumen Field in Seattle.

INTER 2-1 URAWA RED DIAMONDS

Goalscorers: 11' Watanabe (U), 78' Lautaro (I), 90+2' Carboni (I)

INTER (3-4-2-1): 1 Sommer; 36 Darmian, 6 De Vrij, 30 Carlos Augusto; 11 Luis Henrique (8 Sucic 87'), 23 Barella, 21 Asllani (45 Carboni 72'), 32 Dimarco ( 95 Bastoni 72'); 70 S. Esposito (94 F. Esposito 46'), 59 Zalewski (22 Mkhitaryan 46'); 10 Lautaro. Substitutes: 12 Di Gennaro, 13 J. Martinez, 40 Calligaris, 15 Acerbi, 42 Palacios, 48 Re Cecconi, 49 De Pieri, 52 Berenbruch, 58 Cocchi. Head Coach: Cristian Chivu.

URAWA RED DIAMONDS (4-2-3-1): 1 Nishikawa; 4 Ishihara, 3 Danilo Boza, 5 Høibråten, 88 Naganuma (26 Ogiwara 87'); 11 Gustafson (9 Haraguchi 87'), 25 Yasui; 77 Kaneko (14 Sekine 66'), 8 Matheus Savio (6 Matsumoto 79'), 13 Watanabe; 24 Matsuo (12 Thiago Santana 79'). Substitutes: 16 Niekawa, 31 Yoshida, 10 Nakajima, 17 Komori, 18 Takahashi, 21 Okubo, 28 Nemoto, 35 Inoue, 39 Hayakawa, 41 Nitta. Head Coach: Maciej Skorza.

Booked: Nishikawa (U), Sekine (U), Thiago Santana (U) Stoppage time: 2' - 4'

One booking away from suspension: Asllani, Barella, Lautaro (I); Gustafson, Watanabe (U) Suspended: -

Referee: Beida (MTN) Assistants: Santos (ANG) - Yiembe (KEN) Fourth official: Kawana-Waugh (NZL) VAR: El Fariq (MAR) AVAR: Soto (VEN) SVAR: Dankert (GER)

LIVE UPDATES

SECOND HALF 90+4' ALL OVER: INTER COME FROM BEHIND TO BEAT URAWA RED DIAMONDS! 90+2' GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL! Carboni pounces on the loose ball and fires home in stoppage time! We lead! 90+1' Mkhitaryan plays in a cross for Esposito, who heads into Nishikawa's arms. 83' Barella heads narrowly off target. 80' Esposito nods wide. Inter are now pushing for a winner! 78' GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL! Lautaro with a brilliant overhead kick to level the match! 1-1! 71' A huge chance for Mkhitaryan, who shoots wide from inside the box. 70' Watanabe fires over on the counter for Urawa. 65' A F. Esposito header from a Dimarco corner lands on the roof of the net. 60' Asllani has another go from outside the box: the ball flies narrowly over. 58' Esposito with an acrobatic effort from a Dimarco cross: off target. 56' Dimarco volleys a Barella cross over the bar. 54' Asllani shoots wide with his right foot. 46' The second half kicks off. Two changes at the break: Francesco Pio Esposito and Mkhitaryan are on for Sebastiano Esposito and Zalewski. FIRST HALF 45+2' The first half comes to an end. 45' Two minutes added on. 42' After a lull in the game, Carlos gets his cross wrong following some good build-up play by Inter. 24' Zalewski makes a threatening run forward but fails to control the ball, allowing the Urawa defence to clear. 19' CLOSE! Lautaro heads an Asllani cross against the bar! 15' A scramble ensues in the Urawa box, with Carlos failing to direct a header on target. Inter want to respond immediately. 11' GOAL. Kaneko sets up Watanabe to open the scoring for the Japanese side. 2' Luis Henrique can't quite get on the end of Zalewski's dangerous ball across the six-yard box. 1' Away we go: Urawa get the ball rolling! Everything is ready at Lumen Field in Seattle for Inter vs. Urawa Red Diamonds.