A golden victory

Monterrey crushed Urawa Red Diamonds 4-0 to advance to the Round of 16 at the Club World Cup. But beyond the scoreline, Spanish coach Domènec Torrent walked away with a clear message: “Mexican football can compete.” He made the statement in his post-match press conference, visibly pleased with his team’s performance.

Still, it wasn’t all perfect. “We had some major lapses and disconnected at times. That’s normal—no team is perfect,” he admitted. However, he praised the team’s reaction after tweaking their high press: “As soon as we adjusted it a bit, we attacked well.”

The chess match begins: Dortmund awaits

With qualification secured, Rayados now face a familiar opponent for Torrent: Borussia Dortmund. “They’re a very solid, very vertical team… they play with a back three and very aggressive wingbacks. Their style is somewhat similar to Inter Milan,” the Catalan coach explained.

It’ll be a tough clash, but Torrent is already treating it like a tactical chess match. He said he’ll wait to see how the Germans move their pieces before making his own adjustments. He’s also hoping to have key players available: Sergio Canales was ready to play the final minutes but wasn’t needed, while Lucas Ocampos has been dealing with a cold for two days.

Playing with tunnel vision

A small but telling detail: Torrent revealed that he didn’t ask about the Inter vs River result until the 80th minute. He didn’t want that information to affect his game plan. He stuck to his approach—and it paid off.

Rayados move on, the project gains momentum… and the next stop is a high-voltage European-style showdown. Can Monterrey pull off another statement win?