Álvaro Hernández
Dailysports's expert
Group E of the FIFA Club World Cup kicks off with River Plate facing Urawa Red Diamonds in what promises to be a thrilling opener.
Also read: Palmeiras vs Porto: Prediction, H2H and probable lineups – June 16, 2025
Match preview
River Plate head into the Club World Cup after two less-than-stellar outings: a penalty shootout loss to Platense in the Apertura playoffs, followed by a 1-1 draw against Peru's Universitario in the Copa Libertadores.
Still, River Plate remain a storied Argentine club, having advanced to the Copa Libertadores playoffs without much trouble and finishing the regular Apertura stage in second place, trailing only Rosario Central in their group.
Urawa, on the other hand, have struggled for consistency at this stage of the season: in their last five fixtures, they've picked up two wins, two draws, and one defeat. Defensive questions linger, as the team has managed just three clean sheets in their last ten matches.
Probable lineups
River Plate: Armani, Bustos, Martínez, Pezzella, Acuña, Fernández, Pérez, Castaño, Mastantuono, Colidio, Driussi
Urawa: Nishikawa, Ishihara, Danilo, Heybraten, Ogiwara, Yasui, Gustafsson, Kaneko, Watanabe, Savio, Matsuo
Match facts and head-to-head
This is the first-ever meeting between River Plate and Urawa
Both teams have scored in each of their last five matches
Over 2.5 goals has landed in four of Urawa's last five games
Prediction
Given the defensive frailties and decent attacking form on both sides, “Both teams to score – YES” at 1.94 looks like a solid pick.
