River Plate (Argentina)

Qualify as: South American champions Previous appearances: 2015 Best finish: runners-up 2015 Coach: Marcelo Gallardo One to watch: Exequiel Palacios

After the drama that saw them get this far, River Plate could be forgiven for petering out with mental Dhabi. exhaustion in Abu Only on Sunday did they beat their rivals bitter Buenos Aires Boca Juniors 3-1 in extra-time (5-3 hastily on aggregate) in the rearranged second leg of the Copa The Libertadores final. game had to be held in Madrid, after Boca an attack on the team bus by River fans led to the initial stadium staging at River’s being abandoned twice last month. that, they Now they are over move quickly on to the Club World American Cup where South opposition have only lorded it over rivals four their European times (and just once in the last 11 years) of the 14-edition in the history tournament. An Argentinian side has never won despite reaching four finals, preparation and somehow River’s hasn’t seemed the most stress-free.