The Matchday 1 clash of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup between River Plate (Argentina) and Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan) will take place on June 17 at Lumen Field in Seattle, USA. River Plate vs. Urawa Red Diamonds: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
River Plate
The Argentinians represent CONMEBOL in the tournament and earned their spot in the Club World Cup as the top-ranked team in the South American standings over the past four years. River Plate will be participating in the Club World Cup for the third time, with their best performance being a runner-up finish in 2015, when they lost 0-3 to Barcelona in the final. In the current domestic season, the team finished second in the Apertura and was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the playoffs. Notably, River Plate won their group in the Copa Libertadores without suffering a defeat in six matches (3 wins, 3 draws).
Among the Argentinians, 17-year-old midfielder Franco Mastantuono stands out, having scored eight goals across all competitions and being the club's top scorer this season. Additionally, two players with experience in the Russian Premier League are noteworthy: midfielder Kevin Castaño and forward Sebastián Driussi.
- The team has not lost in regular time in their last seven Copa Libertadores matches (3 wins, 4 draws).
- Both teams scored within 90 minutes in the club's last four matches in this tournament.
- The Argentinians have not scored more than one goal in regular time in 7 of their last 10 Copa Libertadores games.
Predicted lineup for River Plate (4-3-3)
Franco Armani – Fabricio Bustos, Lucas Martinez Quarta, Paulo Díaz, Marcos Acuña – Ignacio Fernández, Enzo Pérez, Kevin Castaño – Franco Mastantuono, Sebastián Driussi, Facundo Colidio.
Urawa Red Diamonds
Representing the Asian Football Confederation, the team qualified for the Club World Cup by winning the AFC Champions League 2022. This will be Urawa Red Diamonds' fourth participation in the Club World Cup, with their best result being a third-place finish in 2007. In the current domestic league, the club is in third place, trailing the leader by six points.
It is worth noting that Urawa Red Diamonds have one of the least expensive squads among all Club World Cup participants, with only three teams having a lower squad value than the Japanese side.
- The club conceded exactly one or two goals in regular time in 5 of their last 6 AFC Champions League matches.
- The team scored within 90 minutes in 13 of their last 14 matches in this tournament.
- The Japanese side did not lose in the first half in 6 of their last 8 AFC Champions League matches (4 wins, 2 draws).
Predicted lineup for Urawa Red Diamonds (4-5-1)
Shusaku Nishikawa – Hirokazu Ishihara, Danilo, Marius Høibråten, Takuya Ogiwara – Takuro Kaneko, Samuel Gustafsson, Rema Watanabe, Kaito Yasui, Matheus Savio – Yusuke Matsuo.
Referee
Felix Zwayer (Germany)
Matches – 8 (International matches, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 45;
Average yellow cards per match – 5.6;
Red cards shown – 1;
Average fouls per match – 24;
Penalties – 25%.
River Plate vs. Urawa Red Diamonds: Match Prediction
Considering the international performance of these teams, I anticipate a high-scoring encounter. In their last 27 Copa Libertadores matches, River Plate failed to score in only three instances, while they scored at least twice in 14 of those games. However, in their last four matches in this tournament, they have not kept a clean sheet, conceding a total of seven goals during this period.
Urawa Red Diamonds have also been consistent in finding the net in international competitions. They have scored in 15 of their last 17 AFC Champions League and Club World Cup encounters, breaking through opponents' defenses at least twice in nine of those games. However, the Japanese side does not excel defensively, having kept just one clean sheet in their last seven international matches, conceding a total of 14 goals during this time.
My prediction: Total over 2.5 goals
