Inter Milan and Dortmund Secure First Wins at Club World Cup

At Lumen Field in Seattle, Ryoma Watanabe opened the scoring for Urawa Reds, energizing their vocal fan base. However, Inter Milan's captain, Lautaro Martinez, equalized with a brilliant overhead kick 12 minutes from the end, mirroring his earlier goal in the 1-1 draw against Monterrey.

In a dramatic finish, Valentin Carboni emerged as the unexpected hero, netting the winner just two minutes into injury time. The 20-year-old Argentine had been sidelined since October due to a serious knee injury sustained while on loan at Marseille, and he hadn't played for Inter in over two years. When the ball fell to him in the box, he calmly sidefooted it home.

"Our opponents play with their hearts, and to counter that, we need to play with more pride, be humble, and know how to suffer," Martinez told DAZN after the hard-fought victory. This win placed Inter temporarily at the top of Group E with four points, one ahead of River Plate, who were set to face Monterrey later in Pasadena.

On the other hand, Urawa Reds faced elimination after suffering two losses in as many matches, leaving many supporters in tears at the final whistle. "Our emotion is very bad after this game. We are out of the tournament, so now we can only fight for our one and only win in the last game," lamented their Polish coach Maciej Skorza.

Bellingham Shines for Dortmund
Earlier, Jobe Bellingham scored his first goal for Dortmund as they triumphed over Sundowns 4-3 in sweltering heat in Cincinnati, earning four points from two matches in Group F. The South African champions initially shocked Dortmund with a solo goal from Lucas Ribeiro.

Dortmund equalized thanks to a mistake from Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who gifted the ball to Felix Nmecha for an easy finish. Serhou Guirassy then put Dortmund ahead with his 35th goal of the season.

Bellingham, who joined Dortmund from Sunderland this month following in his brother Jude's footsteps, started for the first time and scored just before halftime to make it 3-1. An own goal by Khuliso Mudau extended Dortmund's lead to 4-1, but Sundowns fought back with goals from Iqraam Rayners and Lebo Mothiba.

"It felt like I was in a sauna," said Dortmund coach Niko Kovac, reflecting on the midday heat. "It was tough for both teams, and while we didn’t give our best performance, that was just how it was today."

Despite the loss, Sundowns still have a chance to qualify for the last 16 in their final Group F match. "The boys put in a wonderful performance... it was a hell of a match. I'm not happy but very proud," remarked their Portuguese coach, Miguel Cardoso.

In another Group F matchup later on Saturday, Fluminense faced Ulsan from South Korea after holding Dortmund to a goalless draw in their opener.