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River Plate beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima in Club World Cup, America win

South American champions River Plate booked their place in the Club World Cup final with a 1-0 win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

The Argentine giants were matched for large spells by the J-League champions but Lucas Alario scored in the second half with a header after Sanfrecce goalkeeper Takuto Hayashi could only half-punch a Carlos Sanchez free kick away.

Yusuke Minagawa had the best chances for Sanfrecce in the first half but failed to convert a trio of opportunities.

River face the winner of Thursday's semifinal between Barcelona and Guangzhou Evergrande on Sunday while Sanfrecce take on the loser of that game in the third-place playoff the same day.

Dario Benedetto and Martin Zuniga scored first-half goals as Mexico's Club America beat TP Mazembe 2-1 to finish in fifth place.

Benedetto put the CONCACAF champions ahead in the 19th minute and Zuniga widened the lead 10 minutes later when he tapped in a loose ball from close range.

Rainford Kalaba pulled one back for the African champions with two minutes remaining in the first half.