- Sanfrecce Hiroshima
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- River Plate
OSAKA.-The moment that River waited for since winning the Copa Libertadores has arrived: the Club World Cup. With the lineup confirmed by Gallardo, at 7:30 they will face Sanfrecce Hiroshima, who have eliminated Auckland City and Mazembe. In case of a tie, there will be 30 minutes of extra time, and if necessary, penalties.
The referee will be the Swedish Jonas Eriksson, the same one who officiated the round of 16 match between Argentina and Switzerland in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
River, the reigning champion of the Copa Libertadores, will play the competition for the first time since it changed its format to include one representative per confederation, and will pursue the dream of a second world title, after winning against Steaua Bucarest (Romania) in the Intercontinental Cup in 1986, which was 29 years ago last Monday.
For the fourth time, an Argentine team will face the Club World Cup, which so far has been an elusive achievement for Argentine football. Boca Juniors, Estudiantes de La Plata, and San Lorenzo all lost to European rivals in the finals of the 2007, 2009, and 2014 editions, respectively.
It will not be an easy goal for River, as the tournament has an undisputed favorite, Barcelona, who has already won the Cup in 2009 and 2011.
Before thinking about a potential match against the Catalans, which is already a dream, Marcelo Gallardo's team must overcome their commitment in Osaka in order to not turn their trip to Asia into a traumatic experience.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima, the recent champion of Japanese football, has already earned the consideration of the "surprise team" of the tournament, as they entered as the last classified team in early December after defeating Gamba Osaka, a team that River beat in the Suruga Bank Cup last August, in the final of the Japanese tournament.
The local representative advanced through two previous stages before reaching the semifinals. First, they eliminated Auckland City from New Zealand (2-0) in the opening match, and then they defeated the African champion, Mazembe from Congo, with a resounding 3-0 victory that was witnessed in the Nagai Stadium by the entire "millonario" squad.
The local team has an unbeaten streak of ten matches (nine wins and one draw), considering both domestic and international competitions, and have not lost since October 3rd against Tokyo FC (0-1) in a Japanese league match.
River is the favorite for qualification due to their history and footballing quality, although their present is opposed to that of their opponent, as out of the last ten official matches they have only won two (3-1 against Chapecoense from Brazil in the Copa Sudamericana and 1-0 against Vélez Sarsfield in the Primera Division Championship).
After being eliminated by Huracán in the semifinals of the Sudamericana on November 26th, the River squad cleared their schedule and advanced their trip to Japan in order to achieve a perfect adaptation ahead of their debut in the Club World Cup.
Gallardo has the entire squad available, and although he hasn't confirmed it, he seems determined to include Leonardo Pisculichi in the starting lineup, replacing Luis González, to ensure good passing in the build-up, long-range shooting, and a "poisonous" execution in every set piece.
The rest of the team, which will adopt a 4-3-1-2 tactical formation, consists of the base that became champions of America.
Source: Telam
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