STORE 
MY BEACH SOCCER 
The semis are set for Saturday after four thrilling quarter-finals in Nassau.
Tahiti, Brazil, Iran and Italy made it to the semi-finals of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup with victories on Thursday.
Tahiti edge Paraguay to reach semis
Tahiti booked their place in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 semi-finals with a hard-fought 6-4 win over Paraguay.
Portugal 2015 adidas Golden Glove winner Jonathan Torohia opened the scoring for Tahiti with a volley from distance that flew in to the top corner.
Tahiti captain Naea Bennett then doubled their lead when he finished off a wonderfully-worked team move. Torohia then had a moment to forget early in the half when a throw from Paraguay keeper Ivan Fernandez eventually trickled through his legs. 2015 top scorer Pedro Moran then found Paraguay’s equaliser when he headed in from close range.
Tahiti retook the lead just over a minute later from Heimanu Taiarui’s stellar overhead kick. However, Moran scored an equaliser again, and his fifth of the tournament, with a long-distance free-kick that he guided into the top corner.
Tearii Labaste scored the decisive goal early in the third period with a brilliant overhead kick before Heiarii Tavanae and Patrick Tepa sealed Tahiti’s progression to a third consecutive Beach Soccer World Cup semi-finals with two goals in the last 20 seconds.
Rodrigo stunner sends Brazil to last four
A late, stunning overhead kick from Rodrigo was the deciding goal, as Brazil edged Portugal 4-3 to book their place in the semi-finals at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017.
The match kicked into gear right from the start, as Torres scored from the kick-off for Portugal with a well-hit volley. Brazil’s own No4 Catarino then responded with a composed finish seconds later.
The next goal did not come until the end of the period, but it was worth the wait, as Jordan scored from Be Martins’s well-worked through pass. Datinha then got off the mark at Bahamas 2017 and scored from two direct set-pieces in the second period to give the Brazilians the lead.
Portugal’s Ze Maria had the chance to answer with a penalty of his own, but Mao made a spectacular save to deny the Braga man. Jordan scored his second of the match with a heads-up, one-time finish directly from a failed Brazil clearance to bring Portugal back level.
However, Rodrigo’s moment of brilliance eventually saw Brazil over the line and into the semi-finals for the first time since Tahiti 2013.
Third time’s a charm for Iran
Iran captain Mohammad Ahmadzadeh scored the opening goal of the match with an overhead kick. He then put Iran two goals in front with a superb, one-time volley straight out of the air directly from a throw-in.
Switzerland then sprung to life and came all the way back from two goals down to take a 3-2 lead in the second period.
The country’s all-time top scorer in the tournament Dejan Stankovic started their resurgence with a flicked finish. Glenn Hodel then scored a pair of goals to give the Swiss a one-goal lead.
With less than a minute on the clock, Ali Nazem scored a clutch goal for Iran to force the match into extra time. Iran then made history when Mohammed Mokhtari redirected Amir Akbari’s shot into the net to score the winning goal.
Iran will now face Tahiti in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Gori sets up semi with Brazil
Tournament top scorer Gabriele Gori netted a hat-trick as Italy defeated Senegal 5-1 in the quarter-finals of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017.
Gori led the Azzurri in one of the most dominant performances in all of the quarter-finals at Bahamas 2017. Coach Massimo Agostini’s side remained compact at the back, limiting Senegal to a minimum amount of clear-cut goalscoring chances, while Gori worked his match at the other end.
Italy will face Brazil in Saturday’s semi-final, with the winner going up against either Iran or Tahiti in Sunday’s final.
Thursday results
15:30 – Paraguay 4-6 Tahiti
17:00 – Brazil 4-3 Portugal
18:30 – Switzerland 3-4 Iran
20:00 – Senegal 5-1 Italy
Saturday semi-finals
15:00 – Iran v Tahiti
16:30 – Brazil v Portugal
