The beach soccer competition kicked off in Iquique on Tuesday.
The biennial Juegos Bolivarianos de Playa has been underway for some time in Iquique, Chile, but Tuesday saw the much anticipated beach soccer competition finally get started.
The continental Olympic event is in its third year, with the 2016 edition the first to be held outside Peru, although this year’s hosts Chile got off to a difficult start as they were beaten on penalties by the Peruvians.
After the sides were level at 7-7, Peru clinched the result on penalties although two-time champions Paraguay made a stronger start to their title defence.
Having appointed Brazilian Gustavo Zloccowick, or ‘Guga’, as their new coach this week, the Albirroja swept aside Panama 6-1 ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Venezuela.
Venezuela – whose best effort at the tournament was a second-place finish in 2012 – came up short against last year’s runners-up El Salvador in their opening clash, going down 2-0 in a close-fought affair.
While a prestigious tournament in its own right, the III Juegos Bolivarianos de Playa also offers the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL sides involved the perfect opportunity to prepare ahead of their respective FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifiers.
Both qualification events take place early in 2017 in the Bahamas and Asuncion, Paraguay, respectively.
Keep track of all the results and fixtures from Iquique via www.beachsoccer.com.
