Suspensions not a concern for River Plate s Gallardo after Monterrery draw

LOS ANGELES – River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo is confident he can still field a team capable of defeating Inter Milan in his sides final Group E game at the Club World Cup, despite losing several players due to suspension.

Gallardo saw Kevin Castano sent off in the latter stages of the 0-0 draw at the Rose Bowl with Monterrey on June 21, while yellow cards for Enzo Perez and Giuliano Galoppo mean the pair will also miss the meeting with the Italian side on June 25 in Seattle.

River Plate are one of South America’s most successful clubs, winning the Copa Libertadores on four occasions, as well as the Intercontinental Cup in 1986.

Their draw with Monterrey means the Argentinian side are level on four points with Inter Milan in Group E. The two teams are due to face off in their final group game on June 25.

Monterrey are third in the standings, two points behind Inter and River Plate, and a win over already-eliminated Urawa Red Diamonds from Japan could see the Mexican side climb into the qualification berths for the knockout rounds.

Said River coach Marcelo Gallardo: “We have some players that we’re going to be missing. We, of course, had some yellow cards and there are several players who won’t be able to play in the next game, so we will have to see how we organise that.

“But I see the glass as half full because, if you look at the scores, every club, every team has had its problems. It was hard for Inter to win, it was hard for Monterrey too, so for our third game we’re going to go with the best we have and we’re going to be optimistic.

“Today we deserved to win. Our level was better, and for