Inter v Urawa Red Diamonds: Line-ups, stats and preview
Urawa are fourth in Japan, winning nine of 21 league games
Table of Contents
- 1 Inter v Urawa Red Diamonds match preview
- 2 Inter v Urawa Red Diamonds team news
- 3 Inter v Urawa Red Diamonds expected line-ups
- 4 How to watch Inter v Urawa Red Diamonds: TV and online streams
- 5 Inter v Urawa Red Diamonds stats
- 6 Inter v Urawa Red Diamonds prediction
- 7 Fifa Club World Cup 2025 fixtures, schedule, results
- 8 Club World Cup round of 16 fixtures
- 9 Club World Cup quarter-final fixtures
- 10 Club World Cup semi-final fixtures
- 11 FIFA Club World Cup Final
Inter v Urawa Red Diamonds match preview
Inter will target their first win of the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup when the Serie A giants face three-time Asian champions Urawa Red Diamonds in Seattle on Saturday.
The Champions League finalists began their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Mexican side Monterrey at a half-full Rose Bowl.
“I’m not looking for excuses, but right now we have little energy,” said new Inter coach Cristian Chivu, describing his squad as suffering from “a physical and mental condition that is far from optimal”.
“It was still a good performance. We created many chances. We made mistakes in our finishing and in the final pass and lacked a bit of hunger in front of goal.
“We did everything we could to win. We tried to defend aggressively… it’s a shame we didn’t manage to take the three points.
“We could have done better – especially in the second half, we were slow. But I prefer to underline the team’s commitment.”
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Urawa lost 3-1 to Argentinian side River Plate in their opener in Seattle, winger Yusuke Matsuo scoring a second-half penalty to briefly make the scoreline 2-1.
“I don’t think we need to show too much respect to our opponents,” Matsuo said, adding that Urawa “can do better” and need to “switch gears” against Inter.
“We had prepared counter-measures against our opponents, but we struggled to execute them for about the first 20 minutes.
“After that, we were able to control the game a little better. Just when we were gradually getting into our rhythm, we conceded the second goal, which was painful.
“Especially in the second half, we were able to control the game and create chances. There were moments that gave us confidence that we can do [that more].”
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Inter v Urawa Red Diamonds team news
Inter lost wideman Denzel Dumfries to a muscle problem shortly before their opener, while forward Marcus Thuram came on as a second-half substitute before sustaining a hamstring injury.
Thuram replaced Sebastiano Esposito, who missed a good chance during a game to forget for the 22-year-old, but the academy product and his 19-year-old brother, Pio Esposito, could be Chivu’s only attacking options, particularly if he wants to rest Lautaro Martinez, whose goal earned Inter a point.
Chivu switched from 3-5-2 to experiment with 3-4-1-2 and 3-4-2-1 shapes during the second half against Monterrey and fans will be keen to see how the Romanian’s tactics look against Urawa.
Maciej Skorza will be tempted to change his starting XI, although the Pole rued how conceding early goals had a “very strong impact on the mentality of the team”, calling that element “the hardest thing to train”.
“The team put in a lot of effort and did a great job, but the way we started wasn’t how we expected,” Skorza added. “We played better in the second half, but the way we conceded was not good.”
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Inter v Urawa Red Diamonds expected line-ups
Inter starting XI: Sommer; Darmian, Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni, Carlos Augusto; Asllani, Barella, Mkhitaryan; Esposito, Lautaro Martinez
Urawa Red Diamonds starting XI: Nishikawa; Naganuma, Danilo Boza, Hoibraten, Ishihara; Yasui, Gustafson; Kaneko, Matheus Savio, Watanabe; Matsuo.
How to watch Inter v Urawa Red Diamonds: TV and online streams
Kick-off on Saturday is at 20:00 BST, with free live coverage on Channel 5 in the UK.
John Obi Mikel, Sami Khedira, Ronaldo, Christian Vieri, Shay Given, Callum Wilson, Andros Townsend, Ade Oladipo, Kelly Somers and Fabrizio Romano are among the pundits and presenters.
The co-commentators are Andros Townsend, Michael Brown, Brad Friedel, Rob Green, Danny Higginbotham, Don Hutchison, Jonas Olsson and Anita Asante.
A highlights and analysis show, The Press, will be presented by James Alcott and Julien Laurens and analyse each day’s games on 5’s streaming service.
Inter v Urawa Red Diamonds stats
Inter v Urawa Red Diamonds prediction
Inter are justifiably huge favourites to win against opponents who finished 13th in Japan last season, with the only element of doubt surrounding their freshness, Urawa potentially being sharper because they are in the middle of their domestic campaign.
The Nerazzurri’s expected goals total of 2.68 against Monterrey was the second highest of any team on Matchday 1 behind Bayern Munich’s 4.28 in their 10-0 win against Auckland City, according to Opta. A 4-0 win could be on the cards here.
Fifa Club World Cup 2025 fixtures, schedule, results
Sunday, June 15
Group A: Al-Ahly 0-0 Miami (Miami)
Group C: Bayern Munich 10-0 Auckland (Cincinnati)
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Atletico Madrid (Los Angeles)
Group A: Palmeiras 0-0 Porto (New Jersey)
Monday, June 16
Group B: Botafogo 2-1 Seattle Sounders (Seattle)
Group D: Chelsea 2-0 Los Angeles FC (Atlanta)
Group C: Boca Juniors 2-2 Benfica (Miami)
Tuesday, June 17
Group D: Flamengo 2-0 Esperance (Philadelphia)
Group F: Fluminense 0-0 Borussia Dortmund (New Jersey)
Group E: River Plate 3-1 Urawa Red Diamonds (Seattle)
Group F: Ulsan 0-1 Mamelodi Sundowns (Orlando)
Wednesday, June 18
Group E: Monterrey 1-1 Inter Milan (Los Angeles)
Group G: Manchester City 2-0 Wydad (Philadelphia)
Group H: Real Madrid 1-1 Al-Hilal (Miami)
Group H: Pachuca 1-2 Salzburg (Cincinnati)
Thursday, June 19
Group G: Al-Ain 0-5 Juventus (Washington)
Group A: Palmeiras 2-0 Al-Ahly (New Jersey)
Group A: Inter Miami 2-1 Porto (Atlanta)
Group B: Seattle 1-3 Atletico Madrid (Seattle)
Friday, June 20
Group B: PSG 0-1 Botafogo (Los Angeles)
Group C: Benfica vs Auckland City (Orlando, 17:00)
Group D: Flamengo vs Chelsea (Philadelphia, 19:00)
Group D: LAFC vs Esperance (Nashville, 23:00)
Saturday, June 21
Group C: Bayern vs Boca Juniors (Miami, 02:00)
Group F: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Dortmund (Cincinnati, 17:00)
Group E: Inter Milan vs Urawa Red Diamonds (Seattle, 20:00)
Group F: Fluminense vs Ulsan (New Jersey, 23:00)
Sunday, June 22
Group E: River Plate vs Monterrey (Los Angeles, 02:00)
Group G: Juventus vs Wydad (Philadelphia, 17:00)
Group H: Real Madrid vs Pachuca (Charlotte, 20:00)
Group H: Salzburg vs Al-Hilal (Washington, 23:00)
Monday, June 23
Group G: Man City vs Al-Ain (Atlanta, 02:00)
Group B: Seattle vs PSG (Seattle, 20:00)
Group B: Atletico Madrid vs Botafogo (Los Angeles, 20:00)
Tuesday, June 24
Group A: Porto vs Al-Ahly (New Jersey, 02:00)
Group A: Inter Miami vs Palmeiras (Miami, 02:00)
Group C: Auckland vs Boca Juniors (Nashville, 20:00)
Group C: Benfica vs Bayern (Charlotte, 20:00)
Wednesday, June 25
Group D: LAFC vs Flamengo (Orlando, 02:00)
Group D: Esperance vs Chelsea (Philadelphia, 02:00)
Group F: Dortmund vs Ulsan (Cincinnati, 20:00)
Group F: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Fluminense (Miami, 20:00)
Thursday, June 26
Group E: Urawa Red Diamonds vs Monterrey (02:00)
Group E: Inter Milan vs River Plate (Seattle, 02:00)
Group G: Juventus vs Man City (Orlando, 20:00)
Group G: Wydad vs Al-Ain (Washington, 20:00)
Friday, June 27
Group H: Salzburg vs Real Madrid (Philadelphia, 02:00)
Group H: Al-Hilal vs Pachuca (Nashville, 02:00)
Club World Cup round of 16 fixtures
Saturday, June 28
Match 49: Group A winners vs Group B runners-up (Philadelphia, 17:00)
Match 50: Group C winners vs Group D runners-up (Charlotte, 21:00)
Sunday, June 29
Match 51: Group B winners vs Group A runners-up (Atlanta, 17:00)
Match 52: Group D winners vs Group C runners-up (Miami, 21:00)
Monday, June 30
Match 53: Group E winners vs Group F runners-up (Charlotte, 15:00)
Tuesday, July 1
Match 54: Group G winners vs Group H runners-up (Orlando, 02:00)
Match 55: Group H winners vs Group G runners-up (Miami, 20:00)
Wednesday, July 2
Match 56: Group F winners vs Group E runners-up (Atlanta, 21:00)
Club World Cup quarter-final fixtures
Friday, July 4
Match 57: Winner match 53 vs Winner match 54 (Orlando, 20:00)
Saturday, July 5
Match 58: Winner match 49 vs Winner match 50 (Philadelphia, 02:00)
Match 59: Winner match 51 vs Winner match 52 (Atlanta, 17:00)
Match 60: Winner match 55 vs Winner match 56 (New Jersey, 21:00)
Club World Cup semi-final fixtures
Tuesday, July 8
Match 61: Winner match 57 vs Winner match 58 (New Jersey, 20:00)
Wednesday, July 9
Match 62: Winner match 59 vs Winner match 60 (New Jersey, 20:00)
FIFA Club World Cup Final
Sunday, July 13
Match 63: Winner match 61 vs Winner match 62 (New Jersey, 20:00)