Chile wins and will face Argentina for 3rd place while Bolivia and Uruguay will do battle for 5th place on day 7 in Recife
Paraguay finishes round robin undefeated after defeating Bolivia
The 4-2 win for Paraguay over Bolivia was a great display of defense from both teams, especially considering that Paraguay were not playing with their full squad. The Bolivians did not feel sorry for their opponents and were ready for a battle and despite falling behind early, they bounced back to tie things in the second period and made things hard for the Albirroja . Paraguay had already sealed a place in the finals on Sunday but their win today leaves them undefeated in the opening round and secures them first place in the stage with 13 points. Bolivia finished their first international tournament without victory, though they had a boxers’chance in every match. The Bolivians finished in last place and will play in the first match on Saturday, which will be the first match of the day.
Playing for pride, Bolivia began the match very fast, swarming to the ball on defense and spreading their offense wide but it was the Paraguayans who scored first on a direct kick strike from Rolon to take the 1-0 lead. The Albirroja stayed disciplined on defense and did not concede any early goals, but going into the last minutes of the frame, they had not scored more than the one goal. The period finished with Paraguay up 1-0 despite many close offensive chances from both teams. A lapse in defensive judgement for the White and Reds gave Bolivia their first goal on the day, early in the middle frame. The speed was on the side of La Verde and their chances began adding up, though the score remained 1-1 going into the final minutes of the period. The set pieces were crucial in the frame and Paraguay scored again on a set piece, to get back the goal they gave up and they took the 2-1 into the second break.
Paraguay picked up the pace at the beginning of the final frame but the Bolivians had the defensive answers to keep Paraguay from jumping out to an even bigger lead until Rolon scored his second of the match on a great individual effort to the put score at 3-1. Paraguay looked content with their two goal lead and did not try and stress or strain the Bolivian defense but the the Paraguayan defense cracked, if just for an instant, and Bolivia pounced, to get back to within one goal at 3-2. The White and Reds quickly answered, on the restart and restored the two goal advantage, with is how the match would end, with Paraguay up 4-2.
Goals: 1-0: Rolon, min. 8 (1); 1-1: Poiqui, min. 9 (2); 2-1: Lopez, min. 2 (2); 3-1: Rolon, min. 9 (3); 3-2: Zambrano, min. 1 (3); 4-2: Benitez, min. 1 (3).
Chile powers through Uruguay for 3rd win
The 7-3 Chilean victory over Uruguay left fans in awe after a spectacularly well played middle frame, when six goals were scored, all of them great as well. The opening frame saw Chile jump to the 1-0 lead before both offenses exploded in the second period. Uruguay then made a slight charge, getting back to within one goal, before Chile really pulled away. The win puts Chile in a solid position with 9 points on three wins and they will be playing in the 3rd place match on Saturday. Uruguay finished the opening round with one win and will play in the first match on Saturday, the 5th place game, against Bolivia.
The two sides were battling for seeding in the final two days and they wanted nothing more than the best possible outcome and the three points that come with it. Defense controlled the opening minutes as the Uruguayans and Chileans were figuring out the others’tactics and form. La Celeste saw more chances in the opening frame but the Lone Stars were equal to all of them. Even though Chile’s defense was sturdy, they could not find very many counter strikes or take advantage of one of the few Uruguayan defensive slips until the final minutes of the frame, when Medalla was fed a gem from his keeper to put Chile up 1-0 going into the first break. Ponce of Chile needed only a few minutes into the middle frame to double the lead, but the Chileans were quickly quieted when Uruguay replied with a great finish. The flurry of goals continued and Chile restored their two goal lead on the restart to put the score at 3-1. La Garra Celeste scored again to get to within one goal but Chile put their foot on the gas and scored three more times, to take a 6-2 lead into the final period.
Uruguay gave up another quick goal to open the period, leaving the score at 6-3, but that did not put a scare into the Lone Stars. They were unable to stop Uruguay getting into the attacking zone and getting wide-open looks, as well as dangerous direct kicks, however Los Charrúas shanked the opportunities and could not capitalize. The close-calls were noticed by Chile who eventually awoke and scored their 7th of the day, to go up 7-3 heading into the final minutes of the match.The lead proved to be more than enough as the referee signaled the end of the match and Chile was up by the same score, 7-3.
Goals: 0-1: Medalla, min. 1 (1); 0-2: Ponce, min. 9 (2); 1-2: Marcelo, min. 8 (2); 1-3: Medalla, min. 8 (2); 2-3: Ricar, min. 7 (2); 2-4: Ponce, min. 6 (2); 2-5: Echeverria, min. 4 (2); 2-6: Echeverria, min. 1 (2); 3-6: Matias, min. 8 (3); 3-7: Belaunde, min. 4 (3).
Brazil bounces back from only loss to defeat Argentina
The 8-2 win for Brazil over Argentina was fiercely competitive as any rivalry game is. Brazil started slow but still managed to take the early lead, but only one goal in each of the first two periods, before making the most of every chance in the final frame, despite final allowing the first Argentinian goals. The Brazilians did not let up and opened the flood gates, scoring from almost every possible way, bicycles, set pieces, and crosses. The win puts Brazil in second place going into the elimination games, behind Paraguay, the only team they lost to in the round robin stage. Sunday’s final will be a rematch of arguably the best game of the tournament, Brazil and Paraguay. Argentina finished the opening round in fourth place and will play Chile with 3rd place on the line on Saturday.
Argentina knew they needed a win to hope for a shot at the final but Brazil was not about to let their South American rivals just do what they wanted and both teams were very physical in the early going and were not budging. Great goalkeeping did not hurt for either side as the stoppers were one of the main reasons that the game remained scoreless going into the meat of the first frame. A goalless Brazil and Argentina match would not last long as Sidney sent his home crowd into a frenzy when he charged through the Albiceleste defense and slotted home a shot to put the Canarinho up 1-0 late in the frame, which is how the first 12 minutes would end. The Verde-Amarela started the second period how they finished the first, with stifling defense and dominating the shots on goal, though the goalless stretch did not last long as Anderson doubled the Brazilian lead at 2-0. The second goal seemed to fuel the Green and Yellow side as they opened things up even more and were doing most of the pressing, but no other goals were scored for either side and period ended with Brazil up 2-0.
Argentina did not make things easier for themselves as they allowed a quick goal to Datinha, putting the score 3-0. Los Gauchos did have an answer, their first of the day, to get back to within two goal and quiet the crowd, but Brazil scored on kickoff to get the crowd energized again and restore their three goal advantage. The Argentine side refused to quit and scored again but for the second time, they then gave the goal back on the ensuing restart. Brazil did not rest on their laurels and continued to score and finally pulled away with the help of multiple goals from Datinha and Fernando DDI and when the final horns sounded, Brazil was up 8-2.
Goals: 1-0: Sidney, min. 4 (1); 2-0: Anderson, min. 9 (2); 3-0: Datinha, min. 11 (3); 3-1: Medero, min. 10 (3); 4-1: Fernando DDI, min. 10 (3); 5-1: Fernando DDI, min. 8 (3); 5-2: Sidney (pp), min. 7 (3); 6-2: Betinho, min. 7 (3); 7-2: Daniel, min. 6 (3); 8-2: Datinha, min. 1 (3).
COPA SUDAMERICANA BEACH SOCCER – RECIFE 2015
Match results:
Friday, February 6th, 2014
13:00 – Paraguay 4-2 Bolivia
14:15 – Uruguay 3-7 Chile
15:30 – Brazil 8-2 Argentina
Upcoming matches:
Saturday, February 7th, 2014
09:00 – Uruguay vs Bolivia (match for the 5th place)
10:15 – Chile vs Argentina (match for the 3rd place)
Sunday, February 8th, 2014
09:00 – Paraguay vs Brazil (FINAL)
