Urawa Red Diamonds qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup for club teams on Friday evening. In the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, the Japanese formation was too strong for the Mexican Léon with a score of 0-1. The match winner is Alex Schalk, who with his goal became the third Dutchman ever to score at a Club World Cup after Clarence Seedorf and Romeo Castelen. The Urawa Reds will meet Manchester City in the semi-final.
Club León – Urawa Red Diamonds 0-1
For coach Maciej Skorza's team, both Bryan Linssen and Schalk started on the bench, but fifteen minutes before the end the latter was allowed to try to force a breakthrough as a replacement for Tomoaki Okubo. The Dutchman seized the opportunity with both hands, as he opened the scoring within five minutes of coming on.
After a pass from José Kanté in the sixteen-meter area, Schalk scored with a diagonal slide: 0-1. The Urawa Reds managed to hold on to their lead until the final whistle, allowing the club to face automatically qualified Manchester City in the semi-finals. That match will be played next Tuesday.
3 – @REDSOFFICIAL's Alex Schalk is the third Dutchman to find the net at the FIFA Club World Cup in its current format (since 2005), after Clarence Seedorf for Milan in 2007 and Romeo Castelen for Western Sydney Wanderers in 2014. Globetrotters. pic.twitter.com/UvmMCqwrhh
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) December 15, 2023
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