Club León - Urawa Reds summary: score, goals & highlights | FIFA Club World Cup 2023
Club León - Urawa Reds: as it happened
Full-time thoughts:
A late shot from Schalk was slid underneath Club León's goalkeeper Cota to send Urawa Reds through to the Club World Cup semi-finals, where they will play Manchester City.
The Japanese side started off the first half of the game at lightning pace, creating chances that could have seen them go one or two goals ahead early on.
But Club León grew into the game, and eventually they pushed their opponents back and created chances of their own. The topsy-turvy first period saw both sides go into the break level, with no goals scored.
The second period saw León start well, but they could not keep up the pressure and eventually Urawa's talent began to shine, with the substitutes causing problems for the Liga MX team.
The clock ticked on in what we are going to call 'a tactical affair' and as soon as people started to realise extra-time and penalties were on the horizon, Schalk stepped up to fire underneath Cota after a nice pass from José Kanté set him free on the right.
Club León captain Tesillo saw red for a late foul and from then on, the Mexican side failed to create a decent chance, probably knowing that their chances of a comeback were somewhere between slim and impossible.
Urawa Reds will play against Manchester City in the Club World Cup Semi-finals.
That's all, folks!
Remember, we've got Al-Ahly vs Al-Ittihad later today in Game 2 of the Second Round!
Thanks for following along.
Joe
FULL-TIME!
Urawa Reds beat Club León and they will play Manchester City in the semi-final of the Club World Cup!
CHANCE FOR LEÓN
Viñas gets a head on a deep cross but the ball flies wide!
We're into the final 60 seconds...
Viñas strikes low and hard but it's blocked and Urawa smash the ball up the other end of the pitch.
A very, very dangerous free-kick is given to León, just outside the box on the right. It was Romero who went down.
Yasui clears after Viñas heads across goal. A decent chance for León, who have a corner.
Wasteful, thoughtless crosses are being played into the box by León as they throw all their dice, as well as the playing cards, tablecloth and anything they can get their hands on.
Urawa are in a back 5 but look extremely comfortable.
Urawa are doing well to keep the ball as León look lost with the clock ticking on.
8 added minutes!
Santos ON
Platano OFF
We're into the final minute of normal time.
HUGE SAVE FROM COTA
Schalk got in behind and was 1 vs 1 but Cota did superbly well to get on the end of his low shot to keep the scoreline at 0-1!
Ramírez ON
Moreno OFF
It's going to take some reaction from the Liga MX side if they want to get back into this...
CHANCE FOR URAWA REDS
The ball is fired towards goal where it clips the wall and swerves out of play.
Schalk to shoot...
It was a clumsy challenge from behind, and Tesillo is still pleading with the official to take a look at VAR, which isn't happening.
TESILLO OFF!
The captain walks!
Schalk is brought to ground right on the very edge of the box as Kanté looked to find him with a chip over the defence.
Fernández, Hernández & López ON
Ambríz, Mena & Rodríguez OFF
Frías goes to ground to steal the ball from Kanté who was covering a lot of ground on the edge of the box.
Sakai ON
Akimoto OFF
We're into the final ten minutes.
CHANCE FOR URAWA
Ogiwara goes on a mazy run through three challenges down the left, buts inside and sees the ball swiped from his feet just as he brings his leg back to shoot.
The ball was played into Schalk who leaves for Kanté on the edge of the box. The striker plays it to the right, back to Schalk, who takes a touch and slides the ball under Cota to put Urawa ahead!
Viñas is booked for standing on the foot of Scholz after the two went in on a loose ball. An unfair decision in my book.
José Kanté opens wide to Schalk but his cross is strangely poor and goes to nobody in the box. Replays show Nakajimaisfouled on the edge of the box, but there's no whistle from Mr Referee.
Urawa Reds, over the last 10 minutes, have seen 71% of the ball.
Shoya & Schalk ON
Ito & Okubo OFF
The ball is flatly crossed in by Iwao and headed away after Barrerio made a good connection to send it behind goal and out for a corner.
Urawa get a free-kick after Kanté is fouled. The ball is far from goal, about 35-37 yards, but it's central enough that a shot may be an option...
Twenty minutes to go - will we see a winner?
Tesillo intercepts a pass through the lines from Akimoto after a delightful ball from Okubo had seen him race away down the right.
Ito, who was waiting to run clear, throws his hands up in frustration.
Gasp from the stands as Ogiwara's cross from the left is just too high for Iwao, who had found space between two defenders.
The flag goes up as Mena gets on the end of a clearance from Frías. Urawa had just broken away and it was a solid defensive intervention from the man in green.
The fans are putting on a stunning show from the stands: neither group have stopped for breath and we're well over an hour into the game. They must be on a rota system.
We're back underway and Akimoto is on the right as Ogiwara slots in at left-back.
Ogiwara ON
Sekine OFF
Mr referee asks for a stretcher; it looks like a hamstring for Sekine.
The ball is put out of play as Sekine is down on the turf...
Platano is penalised for a tough tackle on Ito after Urawa threatened to break away on the counter.
León had been passing the ball around well, but all without finding that final pass into the opposition box.
Okubo dances away from a few challenges and he looks fine doing so, which suggests he's overcome his earlier injury scare.
Ito gets down the right and Tesillo makes two good blocks to stop the ball coming in.
Viñas heads over from a long-distance free-kick as León finally get their chance to attack again.
HUGE CHANCE FOR URAWA!
It's a fantastic ball from Iwao to Akimoto at the far post. He pulls the ball back and Ito fires over from close range!
Frías clips José Kanté and Urawa have another break in play as they set up the free-kick, which will be sent into the box from the right.
Tesillo clears the free-kick and Okubo is still walking very gingerly.
We're still waiting for the free-kick to be taken as Okubo looks to be in some pain...
It's a nice chance for Urawa to fire a ball into the box from the right.
Tesillo, León's captain, is booked after a late challenge on Okubo.
A vital interception from Ito stops Tesillo finding space down the left. The Mexicans have come flying out of the blocks!
Rodríguez sends in an early ball from the left and Akimoto, who looks OK now, clears away. León have started brightly.
Mena crosses in from the right and Nishikawa catches the ball after Höibarten's skewed clearance spins behind him.
Akimoto is down after a nudge in the ribs from Moreno. It looks like he'll soldier on.
Nishikawa gets his first touch of the ball after a long ball is launched towards Platano down the left side.
Second half underway!
José Kanté gets us going.
No changes for either side.
Almost ready to go!
Both teams are back out on the pitch. Let's see if there are any changes.
No goals as things stand...
Overall, I think both teams will be content with their performance, with León possibly the happier of the two after finishing so strongly.
Half-time thoughts:
No goals at the break after what was an intense, cagey half of football.
Urawa Reds started off strongly and could have been ahead early on, with Okubo finding time and space on the right and causing León problems at the back.
The chances and dominance kept coming for the Japanese side, who were finding spaces all throughout the León defensive unit, with crosses and deft passes being floated towards goal, all without finding the final touch.
Koizumi's delightful ball sliced through the green shirts and was met by Yasui, but Cota got out well to save.
Eventually, things calmed down from the team in white and it fell to León to step up and be the protagonists of the game. They began to control the ball and pushed their block up 15-20 yards, forcing Urawa back intotheir defensive third.
Barreiro probably had the best chance for his side at the end of the first half, with a header from close range that blazed past the far post.
Half-time!
A very tight and cagey first half in Jeddah comes to and end!
HUGE CHANCE FOR LEÓN
Okubo is booked for a foul and León whip in a free-kick from the left which is headed past goal by Barreiro.
1 added minute.
José Alvarado, or 'The Banana' as he's known, is fouled on halfway and León use it as a great excuse to run down the clock.
If you at home know why Alvarado is called 'The Banana', write to us.
Barreiro is furious after handball is given against him inside the Urawa Reds' box. He says it hit his body/leg first, but the decision has already been given before he can get a word in the ear of the referee.
Urawa Reds are officially, according to my rules, struggling to get anything going as we close in on the end of the first half.
It's all Club León and their opponentslook out of ideas, which is quite shocking given just how much they dominated in the opening stages of the game.
Five minutes of normal time to go.
Kanté has a go from range but Cota easily saves the low, rolling ball.
León have now had 55% of the ball during the half, showing just how much the game has swuing.
Romero goes for goal from distance and the shot spins from left to right, sailing over the bar.
León's two outside centre-backs are playing a hugely important role, as always, given Frías enjoys pushing into midfield.
It's helping León slowly but surely find elbow room at the bar to get a grip on the game: Urawa Reds' early dominance has certainly dropped.
Remember, the game can go to extra-time and penalties if it ends as a draw.
Nishikawa leaps to catch Mena's free-kick, which was swung into the box from distance.
HUGE CHANCE FOR LEÓN
It's a fantastic block from Höibarten who got well in the way of Alvarado 'El Platano'. He was away down the left side of the box and fired towards Nishikawa.
Gianni Infantino is in the stands, in case you're interested. OK, I won't mention him again.
León are finding more space in the middle third of the pitch as Urawa Reds drop back; Ambrïz is beginning to dictate things, switching play from one side of the pitch to the other.
Ángel Mena strays offside and it's a disappointing stoppage in play for the Mexicans, who had just started to look promising on the ball.
A bit of a scare for León after Iwao floats a pass over the defence towardsKaito Yasui, but the pass is too heavy and it bounces out of play.
Kanté slides in on Cota but the goalkeeper dinks the ball to his left, sending the striker for a Kabsa. León attack and in the end, Ambríz fires a weak effort at Nishikawa.
León pick up possession and push Urawa back, pin-balling passes on the edge of the box. The Japanese side defend well, shoving the Mexicans over to the right before blocking them in and sending the ball away.
Ito fires over from distance after the ball just got an inch too far away from his step, causing him to stretch his body and connect awkwardly with the ball.
We're twenty minutes in and that chance for Okubo was certainly the pick of the bunch; if León can get their attack in order, however, there's definitely counter-attacking chances to be had against the J League side.
CHANCE FOR URAWA REDS
Okubo broke in behind after a stunning pass from Koizumi and it was a fantastic save from Cota who came rushing out off his line!
Having said that, León have certainly settled into the game and look less stressed on the ball; it's just that they've hit a massive crossword puzzle that they're trying to work out.
Urawa's defensive structure is causing León all sorts of problems in the build-up, with Barreiro being forced to go for the long ball time after time as there are not many options for the defence to get past the first line of pressure.
Romero powers down his right and opens to Rodríguez, but his ball back across the pitch is terrible and León see the move break down just past the halfway line.
CHANCE FOR URAWA REDS
Sekine burst down the right and floated in a dangerous cross that was cleared away for a corner by Barreiro.
The noise in the stadium is fantastic, despite the amount of air miles both sets of fans have put in to make the journey...
León have just had their best spell of possession so far in the game, Barreiro finished the move by sending a long, searching ball over the top that evenutally bobbled out of play.
León finding their feet, it seems...
I almost forgot to mention, the Urawa graphic fooled us (me), as Urawa Reds are in fact playing in white. Still, the Christmas theme is maintained.
71% possession for the Japanese side so far... that tells a story of what we've seen in the opening stages.
CHANCE FOR LEÓN
León are still struggling to create but Romero breaks away and fires just wide from close range.
Akimoto is fouled out wide and the early signs of frustration are showing from León, who are not comfortable.
Okubo is causing trouble early on as he gets down the wing again and fires in a cross that is cleared at the near post.
CHANCE FOR URAWA REDS
The Japanese side get down the wing with Okubo and his cross flies across the León goal! Early warning signs from the J League outfit.
The Japanese side get us going and it's a high press from their Mexican opponents.
The referee has blown the whistle!
And we're off!
The players are on the pitch!
We're just minutes away from kick-off in Jeddah!
We're waiting for the players to take to the pitch and we're just a few minutes away from kick-off!
Which team will make it through and play Manchester City in the next round?
Here's a reminder of the starting XIs:
If you've just joined us - welcome! Here's how the two teams are set to line up today:
CLUB LEÓN [3-5-2]:
GK: Cota
DEF: Tesillo - Barreiro - Frías
MID: Ambriz - Moreno - Mena - Rodríguez - Romero
ATT: Viñas - Alvarado
URAWA REDS [4-5-1]:
GK: Nishikawa
DEF: Hoibraten - Sekine - Akimoto - Scholz
MID: Ito - Koizumi - Iwao - Okubo - Yasui
ATT: José Kanté
Before we get down to action, which starts in just around 20 minutes, I have one more question: What is Club León's international record like?
Is history on their side or do they have the weight of past failures to contend with today in Saudi Arabia? Well, the answer is more interesting than you may first believe...
Urawa Reds pre-match press highlights:
It's a team with a completely different soccer culture. I think it's completely different from the teams that usually compete in the J.League.
I think the Mexican team is characterised by their technique and physicality, as well as the way they play by switching positions on the pitch. However, he sometimes plays in a fairly free manner, so I think it's difficult to predict.
I think we have to quickly adapt to the style of the Mexican team.
Their individual skills are also very high. However, they also have their weaknesses, so we want to exploit them. They are completely different.
It's a match between teams with different styles, so I think it's going to be an interesting match in that sense.
What [the fans] all did was phenomenal. I felt the pressure from it, but I also received very positive energy. I'm going to remind the players of that in tomorrow's meeting.
Here are the answers!
The 7 Mexican teams to play at the Club World Cup are:
América
Pachuca
Tigres
Chivas
Cruz Azul
Atlante
Monterrey
... did you get them all?
How did Club León get here?
LAFC were outclassed by a ruthless Club León side who claimed their first ever Champions League title. Asa result, they have been granted the opportunity to participate in their first ever Club World Cup, becoming the 8th Mexica team in history to do so.
***
Can you name the rest of the Mexican teams to have participated in the Club World Cup?
You have 2 minutes...
The winner of the game today between Club León and Urawa Reds will face UEFA Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup holders, Manchester City.
The English side have seen their powers wobble this season, and currently sit 4th in the Premier League, behind Aston Villa.
Erling Haaland has not cut his hair, so we cannot blame that, but the reason behind City’s (sort of) drastic drop-off remains a mystery.
Who's the referee?
Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo is the man with the whistle today.
He comes as a representative of the CAF confederation and is from from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The 36-year-old has taken charge of games in the U-20 World Cup, the CAF Champions League and CAF World Cup qualifying.
And here's the Club León XI:
With another delightful look at that green shirt. It really is a beauty.
Here's the confirmation of the XI from Urawa Reds:
We've also got confirmation, thanks to the graphic, that they'll be playing in their also delightful red kit for the game.
It will be green vs red: a Christmas treat for your eyes.
AFP
About the Urawa Reds:
In case you’re a bit rusty in terms of Japanese football, here’s a little bio of Club León’s intriguing opponents. Urawa Red Diamonds are from the greater Tokyo area of Japan and when they were formed 73 years ago, their original name was Mitsubishi Motors FC.
The three red diamonds on their badge are indeed the same diamonds as featured on the Mitsubishi car logo, as it was the car company who established the football club.
They were the first team in Japan to win the domestic treble, which they achieved in 1978, claiming the league title, the Emperor’s Cup and the Japan Soccer League Cup.
They have won the Japanese first division 5 times and have claimed the AFC Champions League on three occasions: 2007, 2017 and, of course, 2022.
Lineups confirmed!
CLUB LEÓN [3-5-2]:
GK: Cota
DEF: Tesillo - Barreiro - Frías
MID: Ambriz - Moreno - Mena - Rodríguez - Romero
ATT: Viñas - Alvarado
URAWA REDS [4-5-1]:
GK: Nishikawa
DEF: Hoibraten - Sekine - Akimoto - Scholz
MID: Ito - Koizumi - Iwao - Okubo - Yasui
ATT: José Kanté
Club León have arrived at the stadium!
The Mexican side have arrived at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sport City!
We've got justover an hour before kick-off and we'll no doubt see the two sides step out onto the pitch for the pre-game warmups any time soon!
What about the firstround? you may be asking yourself. Well, you probably didn’t hear about it as it was only one game: Al-Ittihad vs Auckland City.
The Saudi Arabian team, would you believe, beat the Australians 3-0 thanks to goals from Romarinho, Kanté and Karim Benzema.
Into the second round...
As well as ClubLeón (2023 CONCACAF Champions League winners) vs Urawa Red Diamonds (2022 AFC Champions League winners), we also have Al Ahly, who won the African Champions League. They will take on Al-Ittihad, and it’s a game you can follow later in the afternoon.
Possible starting XIs:
Given the team news and the fact we haven't had any official confirmation as of yet (it's still a bit early), here is our best guess of a starting XI for each side today:
CLUB LEÓN:
GK: Cota
DEF: Tesillo - Moreno - Frías - Rodríguez
MID: J Rodríguez - Mena - Sánchez
ATT: Romero - López - Viñas
URAWA RED DIAMONDS:
GK: Nishikawa
DEF: Ogiwara - Scholz - Hoibraten - Akimoto
MID: Okubo - Punya - Iwao - Ito - Koizumi
ATT: José Kanté
Team news: Urawa Reds
The bad news for Urawa Reds is that they will be without club captainHiroki Sakai, with the right-back unavailable after suffering from a knee injury.
Here is the list of past Club World Cup winners:
We've seen teams from all across the world claim the famous trophy and title of world champions, with the UEFA sides on a run of wins that stretches back to 2012.
During that time, Real Madrid have won it 5 times, and Bayern have done so twice.
Team news: Club León
It's good news for the CONCACAF kings as both Lucas Romero and Ángel Mena have returned to the Club León squad for the game, and are expected to feature at some point for Nicolás Larcamón's side.
Shaun Botterill / Getty Images
Which teams are in the Club World Cup?
In total, seven teams entered into the Club World Cup, with one from each confederation granted a spot, plus the host: Auckland City (OFC) and Al-Ittihad (AFC, host) entered in at the first round (more on that shortly), while Al Ahly (ACAFFC) and today’s two enter in at the second round.
The winners of the second round ties will go into the semi-finals, which will be played against the UEFA Champions League winners, Manchester City, and the Copa Libertadores winners, Fluminense (CONCACAF).
Urawa Reds: recent form
As for Urawa Reds, their recent form is not perfect either - it's quite topsy-turvy, in fact.
Out of the last five they’ve also only won 2, losing the other 3 games.
They come into today’s tie off the back of a 2-1 loss to Vietnamese side Ha Noi in the AFC Champions League, although that result could be considered a bit of a one-off, given it was a late penalty that sealed their fate and they beat them 6-0 in the reverse fixture.
***
LOSS: 6 December 2023: Ha Noi 2-1 Urawa Reds
WIN: 3 December 2023: Consadole Sapporo 0-2 Urawa Reds
WIN: 29 November 2023: Urawa Reds 2-1 Wuhan Three Towns
LOSS: 25 November 2023: Urawa Reds 2-3 Avispa Fukuoka
LOSS: 12 November 2023: Urawa Reds 1-2 Vissel Kobe
Here's how the stadium looks ahead of kick-off!
The sun is shining on the lovely surface as we count down to kick-off in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's western port city.
ALI HAIDER / EFE
Club León: recent results
The Mexican side are not in great form, having won just 2 of their last 5 games.
They’ve also lost 2 of them, perhaps their minds have been on the Club World Cup, but surely manager NIcolás Larcamón would’ve liked some more recent momentum going into the game today.
***
LOSS: 2 December 2023: América 2-0 León
DRAW: 29 November 2023: León 2-2 América
WIN: 26 November 2023: León 3-2 Santos Laguna
LOSS: 23 November 2023: San Luis 3-2 León
WIN: 12 November 2023: León 2-1 Juárez
The dressing room is ready!
Club León will be in their delightful special edition dark green strip for today's tie, which makes me extremely happy and warm inside.
Can I watch the game?
Yes! Here’s how you can feast your eyes on today’s action and watch it all… for free!
What is the Club World Cup?
A great question. The Club World Cup brings together all the continental champions from around the world in order to find the definitive best team in the world.
It’s been going in one form or another since 2000 and has been held in plenty of different countries as fans across the globe have had their chance to watch the best teams from all the continents (sorry, Antarctica) face off in a mini-tournament.
The current champions are Real Madrid who also hold the record for the most wins, with 5.
Welcome!
Hello and a warm welcome to the AS USA live coverage of the Club World Cup second round game between Club León and Urawa Red Diamonds!
It’s Joe here today to guide you through all the action as it happens, which should kick-off in around 90 minutes from now.