Inter Milan kept Europe’s unbeaten streak intact against Asian teams at the FIFA Club World Cup, securing a dramatic 2-1 victory over Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds in their Group E fixture held in Seattle.
The result also knocked Urawa out of the competition.
After a frustrating draw against Monterrey in their opening game, making them the first Italian side to fail to win a Club World Cup match—Inter came into this clash looking to set the record straight.
They dominated early possession, controlling nearly 90% of the ball in the first 10 minutes. Yet, against the run of play, Urawa struck first.
Takuro Kaneko weaved his way in from the right flank, bypassing multiple defenders before setting up Ryoma Watanabe, who coolly slotted home.
It was Urawa’s first-ever goal against European opposition in the competition, achieved on their third attempt.
Despite conceding, Inter continued to monopolize possession, but struggled to convert it into meaningful chances. Their best opportunity of the first half came in the 19th minute when Lautaro Martinez smashed a Kristjan Asllani cross against the crossbar.
Aside from that, Inter offered little threat, with long-range efforts from Nicola Zalewski and Nicolo Barella failing to test goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa.
In the second half, Urawa sat deep, forcing Inter to work tirelessly to find space. It took 10 minutes after the restart for Inter to register a shot, a 20-yard strike from Asllani.
Shortly afterward, Federico Dimarco and Francesco Pio Esposito both attempted acrobatic volleys, but neither could keep their efforts on target.
Asllani remained one of Inter’s liveliest players, with the Italians piling on pressure and creating six chances without a single shot on target.
Urawa nearly punished them on the break, but Watanabe failed to capitalize, sending his attempt high over the bar.
That miss nearly became costly when Nicolo Barella squared the ball to substitute Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who missed a golden opportunity by dragging his shot wide.
However, the breakthrough finally arrived with 12 minutes to play. Lautaro Martinez met a Barella corner with an audacious overhead volley, steering the ball through a packed box and past Nishikawa.
Barella had another chance to snatch the win two minutes from time but headed wide. Then, deep into added time, Inter found the decisive goal.
A scramble in the box ended with Valentin Carboni calmly slotting the ball into the bottom corner to complete the comeback.
With the win, Inter climbed to four points ahead of their final group match against River Plate.
For Maciej Skorza’s Urawa, the loss confirms elimination and extends the winless run for Asian clubs in this year’s tournament.
