Inter 2-1 Urawa Red Diamonds: Late Carboni goal prevents Urawa upset

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·21. Juni 2025

Inter 2-1 Urawa Red Diamonds: Late Carboni goal prevents Urawa upset

Inter bailed themselves out in added time to get their first win of the 2025 Club World Cup. It was far from a vintage performance from The Nerazzuri, but two goals in the last 15 minutes overcame an early one-goal deficit.

Ryoma Watanabe opened the scoring after 10 minutes for Urawa Red Diamonds with their only shot of the first half. The 2022 AFC Champions League winners were trying to become the first Asian team to beat European opposition in the competition’s history.

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However, Inter’s captain Lautaro Martínez showed his quality with an impressive goal to equalise in the 77th minute. Then, 20-year-old Valentín Carboni got the winner after a blocked shot fell to him in the 92nd minute.

Inter move to the top of Group E for now, with River Plate playing Monterrey later on this evening.

As it happened

Urawa scored with their first attack after suffering in their half for the first 10 minutes. Takurō Kaneko nutmegged Carlos Augusto to cut into the box and set up Watanabe, who finished the move. Kaneko and Watanabe were teammates at Maebashi Ikuei High School in 2014 as teenagers, and had now combined to score on a worldwide stage.

Inter’s sustained possession returned after Urawa’s shock goal. However, their only close chance in the first half came in the 18th minute, when Martínez hit the crossbar with a header.

The UEFA Champions League finalists finished the half with 83% possession and nine shots, but had zero shots on target. Whereas, The Reds’ only shot of the game was the sole goal at halftime.

Urawa Red Diamonds had an incredible chance to double their lead in the 70th minute. They got numbers forward on a counter-attack, and were even five-on-two at one point. However, Yūsuke Matsuo was slightly selfish and took on a difficult shot while four teammates were arriving in the box.

Matsuo’s miss was almost costly straight away. Inter went up the field, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan would’ve scored if he’d produced a better connection on his shot. Instead, he sliced it and put it wide while half the goal was open.

Inter finally equalised with 13 minutes remaining. It was a corner that punished Urawa again, and an impressive mini bicycle kick of sorts from the captain Martínez pulled his side level. Their possession and pressure had finally earned them a goal, even if they hadn’t created the clearest chances.

Urawa’s hopes were crushed in the 92nd minute with Carboni scoring his first Inter goal to win the game in Seattle. The initial shot was blocked, and it fell straight to Carboni, who just had to side-foot it in.

The Nerazzuri prevented another embarrassing 1-1 draw in the competition. They failed to impress again under new manager Cristian Chivu, despite playing with the same shape as under Simone Inzaghi. The Italians had 82% possession, and 26 shots, but just four of them were on target.

Urawa got their early goal and put eleven behind the ball, as many would in this situation. They could have done better with their few chances in possession, but were ultimately worried about committing numbers forward. Their defensive efforts were worthy of seeing out a win or draw, but unfortunately for them, they went unrewarded.