2023 Club World Cup: Red's Urrawa To Semifinals To Face Manchester City

Urawa Red Diamonds managed to get rid of Leon in the second round of the 2023 Club World Cup (Instagram/@clubleon_official).

JAKARTA - Red Diamonds stepped into the semifinals of the 2023 Club World Cup after beating Concacaf's representative, Leon, with a narrow score of 1-0.

The Japanese team, aka the representative of the AFC, actually did not dominate too much. They even lost possession with 44 percent.

However, Urrawa appeared effective in the attack. They managed to release 10 shots, of which five were right on target.

Meanwhile, Leon could only shoot nine times and one of them headed for the goal.

A total of 10 Urawa's efforts resulted in the only goal that became the winner at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City, Jeddah, on Friday, December 15, 2023, WIB night.

In fact, the game was fierce from the start. Both teams played openly.

Leon threatened first with Fidel Ambriz's long-range strike in the seventh minute.

Ten minutes later, it was Urrawa's turn to create a golden opportunity. Tomoaki Okubo was released from his guard when he received a through ball.

Unfortunately, the effort that remains to be faced with goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota can still be blocked.

No dangerous threats were created by both teams after that. The 0-0 score lasted until the break.

Entering the second half, Urrawa took the initiative to attack. Their efforts almost opened the scoring in the 54th minute.

However, Athi Ito's shot in the goal mouth still bounced after he took advantage of a low cross.

A goal for Urawa Red Diamonds was created only in the 78th minute. Substitute Alex Schalk has his name on the scoreboard.

He received a short pass from Jose Kante and then his low shot from close range outwitted Rodolfo Cota.

Schalk actually got the opportunity to score a brace in the 84th minute. Unfortunately, a free kick from a small distance outside the penalty box still hit the live fence.

The free kick was born when Schalk was fouled by captain William Tesillo. At the same time, the foul resulted in a second yellow card for Tesillo.

Winning the number of players, Urawa Red almost widened the distance. Only, again Schalk was unlucky to add to his goal.

He managed to escape his escort in the 89th minute and just faced Rodolfo Cota. However, his shot was blocked by the goalkeeper.

No additional goals were created until the game was over. Red Diamonds won 1-0.

The victory took them to the semifinals of the 2023 Club World Cup and was awaited by Manchester City on December 19, 2023 local time at King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah.