River Plate kicked off their FIFA Club World Cup campaign with a 3-1 win over Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds in Group E, making a strong statement in their tournament opener.

The Argentinians dominated early proceedings and were rewarded when Facundo Colidio headed home from a Marcos Acuña cross after Sebastián Driussi had earlier struck the post.

Urawa briefly thought they had equalised through Marius Hoibraten, but his header was ruled out for offside.

Driussi doubled River’s lead before half-time, capitalising on a defensive mix-up from Hoibraten to nod past the goalkeeper. Urawa pulled one back from the penalty spot through Yusuke Matsuo after Acuña brought down Takuro Kaneko.

However, hopes of a comeback faded when Maximiliano Meza powered in a header from Acuña’s free-kick, sealing the win for Los Millonarios.