Inter Milan advances at Club World Cup with 2-0 win over River Plate

By: Andrew Destin, The Associated Press Posted: 10:16 PM CDT Wednesday, Jun. 25, 2025 Last Modified: 11:29 PM CDT Wednesday, Jun. 25, 2025

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SEATTLE (AP) — Francesco Pio Esposito scored in the 72nd minute and Alessandro Bastoni added an insurance goal in stoppage time to lead Inter Milan to a 2-0 win over River Plate on Wednesday night and into the second round of the Club World Cup.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/06/2025 (453 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Esposito’s goal came just six minutes after River Plate’s Lucas Martínez Quarta was shown a red card after taking out the legs of Henrikh Mkhitaryan on a breakaway and preventing a clean shot on goal.

Just two minutes before the red card, River Plate came close to taking the lead when Manuel Lanzini found Facundo Colidio in the box with a cross, but Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer made the save.

Inter Milan's Francesco Pio Esposito, right, celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the Club World Cup Group E soccer match between Inter Milan and River Plate in Seattle, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Bastoni’s goal in front of more than 45,000 fans came on a left-footed shot from outside the box in the 93rd minute.

Inter Milan finished atop Group E with seven points, two more than Monterrey, which finished second in the group following a 4-0 victory over Urawa Red Diamonds on Wednesday night. River Plate finished in third with four points and Urawa Red Diamonds finished in last, going 0-3.

Key Moment

Esposito, a 19-year-old striker, notched his first career goal for Inter Milan after assisting on the squad’s winning goal in a 2-1 victory against Urawa Red Diamonds on Saturday.

Takeaways

Inter Milan plays Fluminense — one of four Brazilian clubs to advance to the round of 16 — on Monday in Charlotte, North Carolina. Monterrey plays Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday 1 at Atlanta.

What They Said

“Well, it was a very intense game. Very well balanced, especially in the half time, but then we were playing better. For sure it was a great team, great fans and I respect all of them,” Esposito through a translator.

“I’m happy because he played a great game and joined a very difficult and real game and was up to the challenge,” Inter Milan manager Cristian Chivu said through a translator.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer