SEATTLE, June 17 (Xinhua) -- River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo said Tuesday that his team's upcoming clash against Monterrey would make or break its chances of advancing to the FIFA Club World Cup knockout phase.
A victory in Saturday's duel at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, would leave the Argentine side with six points ahead of its final Group E match against Inter Milan.
"For us, it will be an extremely important match because we'll be playing for qualification there [in Pasadena]," Gallardo said after his team's 3-1 victory over Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds in their tournament opener at Seattle's Lumen Field.
"We'll start our preparations now and focus on playing our own game while keeping in mind that our opponent will also have its obligations [to win]. That is the situation we find ourselves in."
One of the talking points ahead of the match was news that teenage midfielder Franco Mastantuono would join Real Madrid in July after the Spanish club triggered his release clause of 63 million-euros (72 million U.S. dollars).
The 17-year-old, who became the youngest player to appear in an official match for Argentina earlier this month, put in a discreet performance against the J1 League side.
"They studied him very well," Gallardo said. "Not only did they mark him with a player who was stronger on his other leg to cover him from the inside, but they also double-marked him so that he didn't have space to go outside," the head coach added. ■
