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Monterrey beats Urawa at the Rose Bowl and gets some help to advance in Club World Cup
Urawa Red Diamonds' Shusaku Nishikawa fails to block a goal by Monterrey's Germán Berterame during the Club World Cup Group E soccer match at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday. (Gregory Bull / Associated Press)
Mexico's Monterrey advanced to the round of 16 at the Club World Cup by thrashing Urawa Red Diamonds 4-0 on Wednesday at the Rose Bowl in the third and final match of the group stage, while Argentina's River Plate was eliminated with a 2-0 loss to Inter Milan in Seattle.
As the third-place team in Group E, the Rayados needed to win, scoring as many goals as possible, and then hope for a winner at Lumen Field during the match between River Plate and Inter Milan, because if the match was tied 2-2, Monterrey would be eliminated no matter what happened in Pasadena.
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But Inter Milan's win gave the club first place in the group with seven points, followed by Monterrey with five and River Plate with four points. Urawa did not earn any group points.
Read more: FIFA Club World Cup casting some doubts over European soccer dominance
'We have to enjoy now, the present,' said Domenec Torrent, Monterrey's technical director. 'I'm very happy for the people who came here and for Mexican soccer in general.'
Torrent added that he was happy to finish unbeaten during three group stage matches, earning one win and two draws.
"We knew it was going to be a complex match. Urawa, despite being eliminated, we knew they were going to play a difficult game," Monterrey midfielder Óliver Torres said. "In fact, in the first few minutes they made it very difficult for us. After the goal, we started to grow in the match. We knew it was a very important day for all the club's workers, for all the fans who were here and at home, and well, for all of Mexico."
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Monterrey settled the match in a matter of nine minutes.
Monterrey's Germán Berterame, front, and Sergio Ramos embrace after winning their Club World Cup Group E match against Urawa on Wednesday at the Rose Bowl.
(Jae Hong / Associated Press)
Colombian Nelson Deossa fired a powerful shot from outside the box at Urawa goalkeeper Shūsaku Nishikawa, who could not block the shot as the ball rolled in for a goal in the 30th minute. Two minutes later, Argentine Germán Berterame fired a low shot on the right side of the Japanese goal and scored. Then, Jesús "Tecatito" Corona fired a long-range missile, extending Monterrey's lead to 3-0. The fourth goal came in stoppage time when Berterame finished off a diagonal cross from the right.
'I didn't expect what tonight was like,' said Berterame of his brace, the win and the qualification. 'We were coming to win, but I think it was a dream night.'
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Monterrey will face Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta while Inter Milan will face Fluminense on Monday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., in the round of 16 of the tournament.
Monterrey fans cheer for their team during a Club World Cup Group E soccer match against Urawa Red Diamonds at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday.
(Jae Hong / Associated Press)
"The next game we know is very difficult," said Torrent, who added Dortmund plays a style very similar to Inter Milan. "It's another European team that competes very well, they have won things. We already know how they play, I've seen them very well."
'Every game is like a chess match. Getting through the group was not easy. It's going to be very difficult for them to beat us and if they beat us, let the fans know that we're going to give everything."
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Sergio Ramos' Monterrey and Lionel Messi's Inter Miami are the only two CONCACAF teams to survive the first round, as Pachuca, Seattle and LAFC were eliminated during the group stage.
This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
