Franco Mastantuono prepares to showcase his talents as "River Plate" faces "Urawa Red Diamonds" in their Club World Cup opener at Seattle's Lumen Field on June 17. The 17-year-old Argentine sensation, who will officially join Real Madrid in August, brings impressive domestic form into this historic first-ever meeting between the Argentine and Japanese giants.
"Despite the excitement surrounding Mastantuono, we remain focused on our opening match," Marcelo Gallardo assured fans during pre-match preparations at Seattle Sounders' training facility.
The youngster has already made history as Argentina's youngest national team debutant (17 years and 296 days) while dominating River Plate's attack with 4 goals and 4 assists this season. His performance will be crucial as the CONMEBOL representatives aim to maintain their perfect record against Japanese clubs in this tournament.
"River Plate" earned their spot in the expanded Club World Cup format as South America's highest-ranked team over a four-year period, while "Urawa Red Diamonds" qualified by winning the 2022 Asian Champions League. Both teams have previous experience in the tournament – this marks the Argentine "millionaires'" third appearance and the Japanese side's fourth.
Interestingly, the Argentine powerhouse has dominated previous encounters with Japanese opposition, defeating Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-0 in 2015 and thrashing Kashima Antlers 4-0 in 2018.
Ryoma Watanabe leads the Japanese challenge as Urawa's top scorer this season, though his team arrives in less-than-ideal form with just two victories in their last seven league matches. The fourth-placed J-League side also features creative Brazilian Mattheus Savio, who has contributed 4 assists and created 41 chances this season.
Swedish midfielder Samuel Gustafson brings European experience to Urawa's engine room, while former Brazilian prospect Danilo Boza anchors their defense. Can they overcome their recent form issues to challenge the South American giants?
The match kicks off at 22:00 local time, with both teams eager to start their Club World Cup campaign with a positive result in this unique cross-continental clash.
