Inter Milan prepare for Club World Cup opener against Monterrey

The FIFA Club World Cup's Group E will get underway on Tuesday with Inter Milan still licking their wounds from the UEFA Champions League final. The Italians will face off against Mexico's Monterrey at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena with new boss Cristian Chivu at the helm for his first match in charge.

The Romanian, who used to play for Inter, recently took over from Al-Hilal bound Simone Inzaghi. A promising season for the club ended in despair after a huge 5-0 defeat in the Champions League final to PSG, which was preceded by missing out on the Serie A title by one point and losing in the semifinals of the Copa Italia. 

Whether winning the inaugural 32-team edition of this tournament would make up for not lifting any of those titles remains to be seen, but Inter find themselves in a tough group that also features River Plate and Urawa Red Diamonds. Defender Stefan de Vrij is just focused on getting past Monterrey for the time being.

"It's a big match. The first game in a tournament like this is always very important to start well. It's a tough opponent with a very good team, very technical, a lot of quality players that we also know. Some players that played in Europe, that have played for big clubs and it will be very tough, but we've been preparing very well. We have a lot of confidence that we can do a great game and a good result," said the defender.