Both Urawa Red Diamonds and Ulsan HD bowed out of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup on June 21, suffering their second consecutive group stage defeats in agonizing fashion. Japanese side Urawa pushed Inter Milan to the brink before falling 2–1, while South Korea’s Ulsan surrendered a first-half lead in a 4–2 loss to Fluminense.
At Lumen Field in Seattle, Urawa faced a monumental challenge against Inter, the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League runners-up. Needing nothing less than a win to stay alive in the tournament, Urawa came out swinging and stunned their illustrious opponents early. In the 11th minute, Ryoma Watanabe capitalized on a slick counterattack initiated by Takuro Kaneko, slotting past Yann Sommer to hand the Reds a shock lead.
Despite facing waves of pressure, Urawa’s defense stood firm, and Inter’s finishing woes allowed the J.League side to hold their advantage deep into the second half. But the breakthrough finally came in the 78th minute, when Lautaro Martínez unleashed a spectacular overhead kick to equalize and tilt the momentum in Inter’s favor.
Still, Urawa clung to hope of salvaging a crucial point—until substitute Valentín Carboni crushed their dreams with a stoppage-time winner in the 92nd minute, condemning Maciej Skorża’s side to a heartbreaking exit.
Meanwhile, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Ulsan also began brightly against Brazilian champions Fluminense. Although Jhon Arias put the South Americans ahead in the 27th minute, Ulsan responded with grit. Lee Jin-hyun leveled in the 37th minute, and Um Won-sang fired the Koreans into a surprise lead just before halftime in the third minute of stoppage time.
But Ulsan couldn’t withstand the pressure in the second half. Nonato brought Fluminense back level in the 66th minute, and with the score tied, Ulsan’s hopes still flickered. However, those hopes were extinguished when Juan Pablo Freytes scored in the 83rd minute, followed by a killer blow from Keno in stoppage time.
With the eliminations of Urawa and Ulsan, Asia’s hopes now rest solely on Al-Hilal and Al-Ain. Saudi giants Al-Hilal are set to take on Red Bull Salzburg at the Audi Field in Washington, D.C., while Al-Ain will face a daunting challenge against Manchester City at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Both matches will take place on June 22, and the continent will be watching closely.