Inter beat River Plate to seal Last 16 spot in the Club World Cup | OneFootball

The second Argentine side has bowed out of the Club World Cup. River Plate were eliminated from the competition after a 2–0 defeat to Inter, who now advance to the Round of 16.

The first half was tightly contested and ended goalless, with the Argentines putting up strong resistance. However, the tide turned in the second half when Gallardo’s men were reduced to ten, and the Italians took full advantage, scoring twice to seal the result - mirroring Boca Juniors’ earlier exit.

With River returning home, Inter turn their attention to the next challenge, a Round of 16 clash against Fluminense on Monday (30th).

River makes it tough for the Italians

The match began at a high tempo, with Inter seeking to exploit the flanks through Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco while River looked to disrupt the Italian build-up with an aggressive press and central combination play. Youngster Franco Mastantuono featured prominently, orchestrating several of River’s attacks.

Both sides chased an early goal. Kristjan Asllani fired just over the bar from the edge of the box, while Mastantuono weaved past his marker and let fly from distance, only to be denied by Yann Sommer.

Inter initially held the upper hand, but River found their rhythm around the 20-minute mark. Even so, chances remained scarce as the game grew scrappier, while attention briefly shifted to Monterrey’s goals in their concurrent match against Urawa Reds.

Despite River’s growing influence, it was Inter who remained the greater threat. Henrikh Mkhitaryan skipped past his man and released Lautaro Martínez with a superb through-ball. The Argentine forward controlled well and shot low, narrowly missing the far post.

Inter capitalise on advantage and seal the win

With River’s hopes already hanging by a thread due to Monterrey’s ongoing lead, the Argentines were forced to commit men forward. Inter, however, struck on the counter. Just five minutes into the second half, Martinez went on a mazy solo run, broke into the area, and struck across goal - only for the ball to bounce back off the post and into the arms of the goalkeeper.

Lautaro continued to torment River’s defence, this time drawing a fine save from Armani after another rapid attack down the right, cutting inside and striking powerfully with his left foot.

River’s task became all the more daunting on 65 minutes when Martínez Quarta was shown a straight red for a last-man challenge on Mkhitaryan, who was clean through on goal. With a man advantage, Inter turned the screw.

The breakthrough finally came shortly after. In the 71st minute, Petar Sucic surged down the left and picked out @Esposito in the centre. The striker shimmied past his marker and fired low into the corner to give Inter a deserved lead.

Deep into stoppage time, Inter put the result beyond doubt. Alessandro Bastoni, joining the attack from the back, received a pass from Nicolò Barella on the left, glided past two defenders and unleashed a precise low drive from outside the box. Franco Armani had no chance. Inter’s victory was complete: 2–0.