Meanwhile, Spain and Germany get off the mark in the group stages
The second set of Men’s NEOM Beach Soccer Cup group stage fixtures went ahead as Japan, UAE, Brazil and England looked to build on their opening day victories, whilst Germany, Spain, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia attempted to demonstrate resilience to win their first matches in the competition…
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Group A
Seven Japan strikes secure six points
Japan win 7-0 against England.
After both securing Day 1 victories in Group A, Japan and England took to the Saudi Arabian sands to decide who would lead the group heading into third and final group stage matches.
Oba put the Japanese side early in the match, inside two minutes of the opening period, before Ozu’s deflected effort and Miyama’s strike both found the back of the net as their nation led the match 3-0 with two periods to play.
With less than three minutes played in the second period, the Japanese lead was extended through Yamada placed shot his shot into the bottom-right corner. They weren’t finished their either, as goalkeeper, Shibamoto netted from distance and Miyama scored Japan’s sixth with 30 seconds remaining in the period.
Only one goal was scored in the final period and it went in the way of Japan once again, as Akaguma sealed the win with his powerful shot.
Third period drama sees Germans succeed
Germany defeat Saudi Arabia 5-3.
Hosts, Saudi Arabia faced Germany to bring Group A to close on the second day of action.
It was a tight opening 12 minutes as goalkeeper, Ebener scored the only goal of the first period, hitting the back of the net with only 22 seconds left in the period.
The host nation equalised in the opening minutes of the second period, but another German goalkeeper got his name on the scoresheet, as Knüppel netted a wonderful finish to leave the score at 2-1 with one period left.
Ahmed found the leveler for the Saudi Arabians in the early moments of the third period, but Ebener was on target once again for the Germans. More drama took place as Khalid made the score 3-3, to the delight of the home crowd, but goals from Olli and Thürk late on meant that Germany took all three points in the fixture.
Group B
Spain bounce back
Spain defeat Türkiye 7-2.
The first Group B match of the day was a match-up between Spain and Türkiye, as both teams wanted to get off the mark to keep qualification hopes alive.
It was Türkiye to break the deadlock in the fixture, with goalkeeper, Ismail perfectly picking out the top-right corner from a long way out, leaving the score at 1-0 after the first period came to a close.
Oliver evened the scoreline within three minutes of the second period, before Özcan regained the advantage for Turkish advantage. However, regardless of setback the Spaniards produced an onslaught in the remainder of the period, scoring on four more occasions through Arias, Domingo and David brace.
Spain put the finishing touches on their first victory in this year’s NEOM Beach Soccer Cup victory scoring two more goals, courtesy of Oliver, for his brace and David, completing his hat-trick.
Brazil continue their fine form
Brazil beat UAE 8-3.
The second Group B fixture of the day saw opening day winners, Brazil and UAE go toe to toe.
Filipe Silva got the Brazilians off the mark in Saudi Arabia, as goalkeeper, Bobô rifled the ball into the top corner to double the lead in the opening period. Despite a goal from Abbass for UAE seconds later, Edson Hulk netted a brace to give Brazil a 4-1 lead inside 12 minutes.
Brazil went even further ahead in the second phase of play as Brendo scored his first of the game and Filipe Silva scored his second.
UAE added to more goals to their tally in the final period, but it wasn’t enough to catch their opponents as Brazil also scored another two of their own.
To find out more about the Men’s NEOM Beach Soccer Cup, make sure to visit beachsoccer.com!
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Results
Group A
Japan 7-0 England
Saudi Arabia 3-5 Germany
Group B
Spain 7-2 Türkiye
Brazil 8-3 UAE
Fixtures – 27th October 2023
Group A
Germany vs England
Saudi Arabia vs Japan
Group B
UAE vs Türkiye
Brazil vs Spain
