Brilliant Brazil retain Dubai title

Gilberto Costa’s world champions beat Portugal in the Huawei Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup final.

Brazil retained their third Huawei Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup title on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Portugal in Dubai.

Gilberto Costa’s men – who join Russia as the only other nation to win the competition three times – continue to hold the upper hand over Portugal, having beaten them at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the BSWW Mundialito and in the Dubai group stage so far this year.

Goals from Bokinha and Filipe Silva did the damage in a hard fought win that extends Brazil’s winning run to almost three years with Portugal’s competition-best second-place finish unlikely to provide much consolation.

Iran tied up third place earlier in the day with a 4-2 win against Russia.

In the battle between the world’s third and fourth best sides, it was the former who came out on top as Marco Octavio’s men battled back from a goal down to finish in the competition’s top three for the third year running.

Ali Karim ensured the UAE measure of revenge against Egypt as his late free-kick ensured the hosts a 2-1 win in Saturday’s fifth-place play-off.

A dramatic comeback from Egypt saw them run out 4-3 winners when the two met in the group stage but the UAE had the last laugh on the final day when Ali Karim fired in the winner a minute from time to ensure his side signed off with a win.

Paraguay got the better of Mexico once again at the Huawei Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup in the first game of the day as they clinched the seventh-place play-off 3-0.

When the sides met in Group B earlier in the competition, Paraguay needed a late Edgar Barreto strike to claim the points but enjoyed a much more routine success this time around with a Carlos Carballo brace helping condemn Mexico to eighth place.

Saturday results

16:15 – Mexico 0-3 Paraguay (Seventh-place play-off)

17:30 – Egypt 1-2 UAE (Fifth-place play-off)

18:45 – Russia 2-4 Iran (Third-place play-off)

20:00 – Portugal 0-2 Brazil (Final)

Standings

1st Brazil; 2nd Portugal; 3rd Iran; 4th Russia; 5th UAE; 6th Egypt; 7th Paraguay; 8th Mexico

Individual Awards

MVP: Rodrigo Soares da Costa (BRA)

Best Goalkeeper: Mao (BRA)

Top Scorer: Jordan Santos (POR) (Eight goals)