Monterrey surged into the Club World Cup knockout stage with a dominant 4-0 victory over Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds on Wednesday night, riding a 10-minute scoring blitz in the first half that left little doubt about their intent.
The Mexican side clinched second place in Group E behind Inter Milan, who beat River Plate 2-0 in a parallel fixture in Seattle.
With that result, Monterrey set up a round of 16 showdown against Borussia Dortmund, scheduled for Tuesday in Atlanta.
Despite the historic Rose Bowl offering a massive 89,702 capacity, only 14,312 spectators turned out to watch Monterrey dismantle their opponents.
Nelson Deossa opened the scoring in the 30th minute with a blistering strike from 35 yards out. Urawa goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa managed to get a hand on the shot but couldn’t keep it from flying into the net.
Minutes after a brief cooling break, Germán Berterame doubled Monterrey’s lead, calmly placing the ball into the bottom right corner. Then, in the 39th minute, Jesús Corona made it 3-0 with a lofted effort from distance that curled down into the goal.
Berterame capped off the first-half masterclass with his second goal in stoppage time.
Urawa, already eliminated after losses to Inter Milan and River Plate, had little resistance left.
Monterrey, meanwhile, came out firing, knowing that goal difference was vital to leapfrog into the knockout spots after starting the day in third.
Their urgency was apparent from the opening whistle. Alphonso Alvarado nearly put them ahead early with a header that crashed off the crossbar.
Monterrey’s only previous goal in the tournament had come from Sergio Ramos, but on this night, the floodgates opened.
The Rayados, mindful of potential suspensions, eased off in the closing stages. Four players had received yellow cards in the previous match, and another caution would’ve ruled them out of the next round.
“We got a win, that is what we were looking for. There was a lot of sacrifice in the match. It was a tough start, from the very first match until now, they were all tough. So we did grind our teeth and go for it,” said Berterame, who was named man of the match.
Urawa captain Takahiro Sekine reflected on the experience despite the heavy defeat, “We do not know how we are going to improve on this, but each of us felt lessons and learned lessons individually. So I think we can use this going forward,” he said through a translator.
With confidence renewed and momentum finally on their side, Monterrey now looks ahead to their high-stakes clash with Dortmund.