Monterrey and Inter Milan are set to clash in their Group E opener of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 at the historic Rose Bowl Stadium. Both clubs will be looking to start the tournament strong, especially with River Plate taking the early lead in the group after a 3-1 win over Urawa Red Diamonds.
Inter Milan enter the match still reeling from a heavy 5-0 defeat to Paris Saint–Germain in the UEFA Champions League final. The loss led to the resignation of head coach Simone Inzaghi. Taking over on short notice is former Inter defender Cristian Chivu, who will make his managerial debut in the Club World Cup.
Monterrey face a similar situation. The Mexican side was eliminated in the Round of 16 of the Concacaf Champions Cup by the Vancouver Whitecaps, and shortly afterward, head coach Martín Demichelis was dismissed. Spanish manager Domènec Torrent will make his debut on the sidelines for Monterrey against the Italian giants.
Monterrey’s starting XI
One of the major question marks for Monterrey was the availability of veteran defender Sergio Ramos. The former Real Madrid star has been recovering from an injury suffered in April and has only featured in one friendly match since. However, Ramos will start in this crucial fixture.
Torrent’s starting lineup: Esteban Andrada; Victor Guzman, Stefan Medina, Sergio Ramos; Ricardo Chavez, Gerardo Arteaga, Jorge Rodriguez, Sergio Canales, Oliver Torres, Lucas Ocampos; Germán Berterame.
Inter Milan’s starting XI
The new head coach, Cristian Chivu, will make some changes to the lineup that suffered a blowout loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final.
This will be Chivu’s starting lineup: Yann Sommer; Benjamin Pavard, Alessandro Bastoni, Francesco Acerbi, Matteo Darmian; Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Kristjan Asllani, Nicolo Barella, Carlos Augusto; Lautaro Martínez, Sebastiano Esposito.