Argentina and Ecuador have their World Cup hopes put on hold until tomorrow while Chile earns 7th
Chile soundly defeats Colombia for 7th Place
The 9-3 win for Chile over Colombia was a great finish to the event for the Chileans, though it was bittersweet as well since they showed high how their level of play is, but they were unable to get the bounces they needed to finish where they wanted. The two teams began the game by exchanging the lead with a handful of goals, but La Roja distanced themselves by two goals at the end of the first and they held onto the lead for the rest of the match. The win leaves Chile in sole possession of 7th place in the entire CONMEBOL region. Colombia had flashes of brilliance as well but they were unable to harness any magic for their final match of the event, though they still finished in a very respectable 8th place.
Torrid does not begin to describe how fast the match started, as both teams decided that defense was a thing of the past and they both went on the attack. The Colombians hit pay dirt first, but that did not last long, with the Chileans replying twice with great strikes that put them ahead 2-1. The scoring was far from finished, however, as Los Cafeteros scord the equalizer on the golden leg of Ortega. La Roja was more than adept at countering and they did so with two more quick goals, putting the score at 4-2 thanks to the second goal each for Belaunde and Echeverria. The score did not change as the teams went into the first break with the Chileans up 4-2. The second period began just as fast, maybe faster as the defenses held strong and did not allow a goal going into the last minutes of the frame. The play was quick and there was little to no niggling with both teams showing resolve and not playing ticky tacky football. The Coffee Growers hit the back of the onion bag again, drawing to within 1 at 3-4, but less than a minute later, Duran scored for the Reds to push the lead back to two, at 5-3, which is how the middle frame would end.
Chile started the final twelve minutes like they began the first ones, very fast and with goals. They already had Colombia on their heels but they did not stop and scored two quick goals from Medalla to push their lead to the largest all match, four goals, at 7-3. Colombia found themselves on the defensive more much of the period and could not mount much of an attack. The Reds used a third goal from Belaunde to put an even larger distance between them. When the final buzzer had sounded, Chile had the very comfortable 9-3 lead and more importantly the win.
Goals: 1-0: Riascos, min. 9 (1); 1-1: Echeverria, min. 8 (1); 1-2: Belaunde, min. 7 (1); 2-2: Ortega, min. 6 (1); 2-3: Belaunde, min. 6 (1); 2-4: Echeverria, min. 6 (1); 3-4: Cabrera, min. 2 (2); 3-5: Duran, min. 1 (2); 3-6: Medalla, min. 8 (3); 3-7: Medalla, min. 7 (3); 3-8: Belaunde, min. 2 (3); 3-9: Rodriguez, min. 2 (3).
Brazil spectactular in win and now heading to World Cup
The 14-1 win for Brazil was overwhelming and it did not matter the opponent as they were methodical and medical in their dissection of Ecuador. The Brazilians started fast, as could be expected, and despite the early disadvantage, the Ecuadorians fought and looked poised to get back into proceedings, but they never could and the Verde-Amarela ran away from the competition with a plethora of goals in all three periods. The victory gives Brazil a spot in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Portugal 2015 – CONEMBEL Qualifier Manta (Ecuador) final and they automatically qualify for the World Cup in July in Espinho, Portugal. The loss is not the end o the tournament for the hosts as they will play in the 3rd Place Match on Sunday, still with the chance of qualifying for the World Cup, with a victory.
If there is a quicker way to silence a raucous and filled to capacity stadium and crowd, we do not know it as Brazil came out firing and they did so in a deadly manner. The Tetra Campeones netted five first period goals to take the 5-0 lead into the first break. The middle frame had a much more calm feeling as the Ecuadorians settled into their defensive roles and limited the Brazilian attacks, however only so much be done to slow the Canarinho, and they used a goal from Mauricinho to push the lead to 6-0. Los Amarillos also began to see their chances open up but they could not initially score. The Green and Yellow were in full attack mode and added their seventh goal on the third goal of the day for Fernando DDI, while still shutting out the Ecuadorians. The Yellows did get off the board in the middle frame and scored on an great shot from Vera, which put the score at 7-1, though a last second goal from Bruno Xavier stopped the momentum and put Brazil up 8-1 going into the final frame.
Ecuador could not find any answers to the Brazilian offense as they found themselves in an even bigger hole early in the period, staring down a 12-1 deficit with more than half the period remaining. The Ecuadorians showed grit in amassing more chances and shots on goal and letting the crowd back into the match but it was Brazil who scored the next goal, squashing any yells from the home crowd and pushing the lead to 14-1 after more strikes from Daniel and Betinho. The scoring slowed from the hectic pace it was on and Brazil held onto the same score and when the final whistle sounded, they had earned the 14-1 victory.
Goals: 1-0: Fernando DDI, min. 11 (1); 2-0: Sydney, min. 10 (1); 3-0: Fernando DDI, min. 8 (1); 4-0: Daniel, min. 2 (1); 5-0: Datinha, min. 1 (1); 6-0: Mauricinho, min. 10 (2); 7-0: Fernando DDI, min. 4 (2); 7-1: Vera, min. 0 (2); 8-1: Bruno Xavier, min. 0 (2); 9-1: Datinha, min. 8 (3); 10-1: Gabriel, min. 8 (3); 11-1: Datinha, min. 8 (3); 12-1: Gabriel, min. 7 (3); 13-1: Daniel, min. 6 (3); 14-1: Betinho, min. 6 (3).
Paraguay secures date with Brazil and the World Cup with win
The 4-1 win for Paraguay over Argentina was never in doubt but it was never in clear view as the Paraguayans were determined to get out front first, which they did but it was not by much and they were also looking over their backs with the potent Argentina offense always on their heels and at alert. The victory gives Paraguay a spot in this years’ FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Portugal 2015 in Espinho, Portugal. In addition to the World Cup, Paraguay will have a rematch against Brazil, who defeated them in the final in Recife earlier this year. Argentina will still have a chance to qualify for the World Cup, they will have to face and defeat the hosts, Ecuador, on Sunday, in the 3rd place match.
Semi-finals are always stocked with the best teams, and with similar levels at that, and the final match of the day was a perfect example of that. It became a battle of wills and the Paraguayans came out just a little more headstrong as they scored two quick goals to put the Argentineans on alert. When the dust had settled, the match headed into the final minutes of the period, with the Albirroja still leading by a score of 2-0. The Paraguayans were staying in control of the match, limiting the Gaucho’s chances, though they were not generating much offense in the early minutes of the middle frame. The offenses eventually came alive as the Albiceleste scored their first of the match on a goal from Hilaire S. but on the restart, Paraguay responded to the score at 3-1 heading into the last minutes of the second period. The excitement of the period sadly had to come to an end and it did with a last minute penalty kick that put Paraguay up 4-1 with only the third period remaining.
The third period began with trepidation from Paraguay and aggression from the Cowboys but nothing changed on the scoreboard as the White and Reds had a sound offense to go along with their prolific offense. Argentina was playing great defense as well and they were keeping the score just close enough to worry the leaders. Past the midway point in the period, it looked like the Paraguayans were the fresher team but a boost in adrenaline is sometimes all that a team needs for a boost. The Paraguayans were able to quiet Argentina and they held on until the final horn to earn the 4-1 win.
Goals: 1-0: A. Rolon, min. 10 (1); 2-0: J. Lopez, min. 9 (3); 2-1: Hilaire S., min. 6 (2); 3-1: P. Moran, min. 6 (2); 4-1: M. Benitez, min. 0 (2).
FBSWC PORTUGAL 2015 – CONMEBOL QUALIFIER MANTA (ECUADOR)
Results Today:
Saturday 25.04.15
14:15 – Colombia 3-9 Chile (7th Place Match)
15:30 – Brazil 14-1 Ecuador (Semi-final)
16:45 – Paraguay 4-1 Argentina (Semi-final)
Upcoming Matches:
Sunday 26.04.15
14:15 – Peru vs Uruguay (5th Place Match)
15:30 –Ecuador vs Argentina (3rd Place Match)
16:45 – Brazil vs Paraguay (Final)
