Inter Milan strikes late to beat Urawa Reds at Club World Cup
Valentin Carboni struck the winning goal in stoppage time as Inter Milan came from behind to beat Urawa Reds 2-1 on Saturday and knock the J. League team out of the Club World Cup.
Ryoma Watanabe got an early opening goal for Urawa Reds, who were backed by a noisy contingent of their supporters at Lumen Field in Seattle.
But captain Lautaro Martinez had got Inter's equalizer in a 1-1 draw with Monterrey of Mexico in the club's first match at the tournament, and he repeated the trick to level matters on Saturday with 12 minutes to go.
Carboni, the 20-year-old Argentine who had not made an appearance for Inter in more than two years, then appeared in the 92nd minute to give the Italians the victory.
"Our opponents play with their hearts and to counter that as a team we need to play with more pride, be humble and know how to suffer," Martinez told broadcaster DAZN after Inter was made to work for the victory.
The result leaves Cristian Chivu's team in a good position to qualify for the last 16, while a second defeat in as many matches means Urawa won't continue beyond the group stage.
Urawa goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa after his club was defeated by Inter Milan on Saturday in Seattle. |
AFP-JIJI
"Our emotion is very bad after this game. We are out of the tournament so now we can only fight in the last game to achieve our one and only win," said Urawa's Polish coach Maciej Skorza.
Winners of the Asian Champions League in 2023, Urawa Reds were aiming to bounce back from a 3-1 loss against River Plate in their opening game and they went in front in the 11th minute.
Takuro Kaneko helped create the goal with a good run down the right before his low cross was swept home first-time by Watanabe.
Martinez hit the crossbar from a header for Inter soon after, and it looked as if the UEFA Champions League runner-up might slip to a shock defeat when Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed the target from a good position in the second half.
But they got the tying goal in the 78th minute when a Nicolo Barella corner from the left was deftly turned in by Martinez, who scored with an overhead kick.
The stage was then set for Carboni, who had not played a competitive game since early October after suffering a serious knee injury while on loan at Marseille.
He was on hand to sidefoot the ball into the net after a Petar Sucic shot hit teammate Francesco Esposito and the ball broke to Carboni inside the area.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
an hour ago
- The Mainichi
Football: Urawa out of Club World Cup after dramatic loss to Inter
SEATTLE (Kyodo) -- Urawa Reds were on the verge of a historic win but lost 2-1 to Inter Milan on Saturday, sending the only Japanese team at the Club World Cup out of the competition after two straight losses in Group E. Ryoma Watanabe's 11th-minute opener seemed enough to hand the J-League side a huge upset win at Lumen Field in Seattle, but the Italian giants broke their resistance through Lautaro Martinez's 78th-minute leveler before Valentine Carboni pounced in second-half stoppage time. Urawa, the 2022-23 Asian Champions League winners, survived early pressure before taking a shock lead when Takuro Kaneko nutmegged Carlos Augusto down the right and cut back for Watanabe, who also shot through the legs of Matteo Darmian to find the net. Watanabe blocked Darmian's close-range volley before Martinez rattled the bar with a 19th-minute header as Inter came roaring back but Urawa, buoyed by the traveling fans' fervent support, held the lead at the break thanks to their only shot in the first half. Inter remained on the front foot in the second half before Watanabe squandered a golden chance to double Urawa's in the 70th minute, blasting over after a pacey Yusuke Matsuo launched a five-on-three counter from inside his own half. Veteran attacker Henrikh Mkhitaryan steered wide minutes later for Inter before this season's UEFA Champions League runners-up finally drew level through an intuitive overhead kick from captain Martinez off a corner. Urawa looked to hang on to the point they needed to stay in the tournament but were left devastated when Pater Sucic's blocked low drive inside the box fell nicely for Carboni, who side-footed into the left bottom corner in the second minute of added time. Watanabe almost caught Inter keeper Yann Sommer out with a long free-kick in the dying seconds but the ball was tipped over as Urawa were left without a point, having succumbed to River Plate 3-1 in their opener. "Things turned out the way they did in the end, but we had good spells, including a chance that I didn't take. It's that gap (in quality) in each moment," said Watanabe, eager to take home something from their last game against Monterrey on Wednesday. "We won't make it a dead rubber but an opportunity for us to grow. We'll take each game as an opportunity for that and look to build toward the second half of the J-League season."
Nikkei Asia
3 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Japan's Urawa out of Club World Cup after dramatic loss to Inter Milan
Sports Italian soccer club rally past Urawa on stoppage-time goal Ryoma Watanabe (white) of Japan's Urawa Reds opens the scoring in the first half of a Club World Cup Group E match against Italy's Inter Milan in Seattle on June 21. © Kyodo SEATTLE (Kyodo) -- Urawa Reds were on the verge of a historic win but lost 2-1 to Inter Milan on Saturday, sending the only Japanese team at the Club World Cup out of the competition after two straight losses in Group E. Ryoma Watanabe's 11th-minute opener seemed enough to hand the J-League side a huge upset win at Lumen Field in Seattle, but the Italian giants broke their resistance through Lautaro Martinez's 78th-minute leveler before Valentine Carboni pounced in second-half stoppage time.
Kyodo News
5 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Football: Urawa out of Club World Cup after dramatic loss to Inter
KYODO NEWS - 1 hour ago - 11:54 | Sports, All Urawa Reds were on the verge of a historic win but lost 2-1 to Inter Milan on Saturday, sending the only Japanese team at the Club World Cup out of the competition after two straight losses in Group E. Ryoma Watanabe's 11th-minute opener seemed enough to hand the J-League side a huge upset win at Lumen Field in Seattle, but the Italian giants broke their resistance through Lautaro Martinez's 78th-minute leveler before Valentine Carboni pounced in second-half stoppage time. Urawa, the 2022-23 Asian Champions League winners, survived early pressure before taking a shock lead when Takuro Kaneko nutmegged Carlos Augusto down the right and cut back for Watanabe, who also shot through the legs of Matteo Darmian to find the net. Watanabe blocked Darmian's close-range volley before Martinez rattled the bar with a 19th-minute header as Inter came roaring back but Urawa, buoyed by the traveling fans' fervent support, held the lead at the break thanks to their only shot in the first half. Inter remained on the front foot in the second half before Watanabe squandered a golden chance to double Urawa's in the 70th minute, blasting over after a pacey Yusuke Matsuo launched a five-on-three counter from inside his own half. Veteran attacker Henrikh Mkhitaryan steered wide minutes later for Inter before this season's UEFA Champions League runners-up finally drew level through an intuitive overhead kick from captain Martinez off a corner. Urawa looked to hang on to the point they needed to stay in the tournament but were left devastated when Pater Sucic's blocked low drive inside the box fell nicely for Carboni, who side-footed into the left bottom corner in the second minute of added time. Watanabe almost caught Inter keeper Yann Sommer out with a long free-kick in the dying seconds but the ball was tipped over as Urawa were left without a point, having succumbed to River Plate 3-1 in their opener. "Things turned out the way they did in the end, but we had good spells, including a chance that I didn't take. It's that gap (in quality) in each moment," said Watanabe, eager to take home something from their last game against Monterrey on Wednesday. "We won't make it a dead rubber but an opportunity for us to grow. We'll take each game as an opportunity for that and look to build toward the second half of the J-League season."
