Italy are the Euro Beach Soccer League 2023 – Superfinal champions!

The Euro Beach Soccer League – Superfinal winners were decided in Alghero in the final, as play-off matches also took place to determine the final standings of Division A…

WATCH ALL MATCHES LIVE ON BEACHSOCCERTV.COM – SIGN UP HERE!

Final
Italy capture European glory in Alghero
Italy win 5-4 against Spain.

The stage was set as Italy and Spain took to the sands of Alghero to decide who would become the Euro Beach Soccer League – Superfinal champions, in a rematch between the nations of last year’s 3rd-4th place match, in Cagliari.

The atmosphere in the stadium was electric as the whistle blew to begin proceedings. After an extremely tense first 11 minutes in Alghero, the Italians made the breakthrough as Alla caught his acrobatic volley from distance to perfection, following a misplaced throw from Spanish goalkeeper, Dona. The period came to a close with the Italy team holding a narrow lead, as the packed out stadium cheered them on.

Giordani doubled the Italian advantage at the start of the second period after slamming in a spectacular bicycle kick, but Spain fought back minutes later courtesy of an Arias free-kick. With the teams separated by one goal, the next one to materialise would be an extremely important one. With less than six minutes remaining in the period, it was Giordani to strike once again for the Italians to send them 3-1 up with one period remaining.

Spain had 12 minutes to get back into the match, but that task got a lot tougher, as Genovali struck at the start of the third period. Nevertheless, Giordani turned the ball into his own net and Oliver converted, as Spain were now one goal behind. Giordani then completed his hat-trick, giving the Italians some breathing space and despite another Oliver goal for the Spaniards, Italy held on to capture the Euro Beach Soccer League 2023 – Superfinal trophy.

Individual awards
During the awards ceremony in Alghero, individual awards were given out to the ‘Best goalkeeper’, ‘MVP’ and ‘Top scorer’. The ‘Best goalkeeper’ award was given to Italian goalkeeper, Leandro Casapieri, the ‘MVP’ award was handed to Italian forward, Marco Giordani and the ‘Top scorer’ award was won by Switzerland’s, Noel Ott.

Play-offs
3rd-4th place
Bronze for Belarus
Belarus defeated Portugal 6-5 in the 3rd-4th place play-off fixture. Ryabko netted a hat-trick for the Belarusians in a tight affair with the Portuguese side. The win for Belarus meant that they finished 3rd in the Euro Beach Soccer League – Superfinal, whilst Portugal ended their tournament in 4th.

5th-6th place
5th for the Swiss
The 5th-6th place play-off match finished 8-6 to Switzerland against Romania. Hodel and Steinemann completed braces for the Swiss side, as the victory granted them a 5th place finish, whilst Romania finished 6th.

7th-8th place
Germany finish 7th
In the play-off match to decide 7th-8th place, Germany came out 6-5 victors over Denmark. Damm converted a hat-trick in the fixture for the Danes, but they couldn’t out score their opponents overall. The result means that Germany finish in 7th place, whilst Denmark finish in 8th.

9th-11th place
Estonia take 10th
With Poland confirming ninth place the previous day, Estonia beat Türkiye 6-5 in the 9th-11th place play-off to finish in 10th. Five different Estonian players found the net, as Türkiye’s Yasin scored an own goal. This result confirmed an 11th place finish for Türkiye.

12th-15th place
France stay up
The first 12th-15th place play-off fixture of the day saw France defeat Greece 3-2. Goals from Bru, Constant and Guerin were enough to get them them over the line against the Greeks, as they remained in Division A. However, Greece have now been relegated to Division B for next season.

Safety for Moldova
The last 12th-15th place play-off match finished 4-1 to Moldova on penalties, after drawing 4-4 in the match. Graur converted the winning penalty for the Moldovans, as he confirmed Moldova’s safety in Division A. Defeat for Azerbaijan signals their relegation to Division B.

To have a look back at the Euro Beach Soccer League 2023 – Superfinal – Alghero, make sure to visit beachsoccer.com!

WATCH ALL MATCHES LIVE ON BEACHSOCCERTV.COM – SIGN UP HERE!

Results
Final
Italy 5-4 Spain

Play-offs
3rd-4th place
Portugal 5-6 Belarus

5th-6th place
Romania 6-8 Switzerland

7th-8th place
Germany 6-5 Denmark

9th-11th place
Türkiye 5-6 Estonia

12th-15th place
France 3-2 Greece
Moldova 4-4 Azerbaijan (Moldova win 4-1 on penalties)

Final standings
1. Italy
2. Spain
3. Belarus
4. Portugal
5. Switzerland
6. Romania
7. Germany
8. Denmark
9. Poland
10. Estonia
11. Türkiye
12. France
13. Moldova
14. Azerbaijan
15. Greece