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CONCACAF.comCosta Rica drops Futsal World Cup opener01/11/2012BANGKOK, Thailand - CONCACAF champion Costa Rica surrendered a goal two minutes before halftime and lost 3-1 to host Thailand on Thursday in its opening match at the Futsal World Cup.
Suphawut Thueanklang scored one goal and set up another to lead Thailand, which claimed the early Group A lead over Urkaine and Paraguay, which drew 3-3 in an earlier match.
Thueanklang fed Keattiyot Chalaemkhet to put Thailand ahead with 2:01 remaining in the first half, then scored in the 29th minute.
Diego Zuniga, who scored to help Costa Rica over Guatemala in the CONCACAF title game on July 8, pulled the Ticos within 2-1 in the 37th minute, but 75 seconds later Jirawat Sornwichian restored the two-goal advantage.
Costa Rica, which is making its third appearance in the World Cup and first since 2000, next will play Sunday against Paraguay.
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CONCACAF.comPanama wins Futsal World Cup debut02/11/2012BANGKOK, Thailand - Miguel Lasso and Fernando Mena scored a pair of second-half goals each to rally Panama to an 8-3 victory over Morocco on Friday in the Central American side's debut at the Futsal World Cup.
Morocco jumped ahead 3-0 by the 16th minute on goals by Yahya Jabrane, Aziz Derrou and Adil Habril. But Carlos Perez pulled Panama within a goal less than a minute before halftime.
Lasso and Mena scored goals to pull Panama even within three minutes after the start of the second half. Apolinar Galvez gave "Los Canaleros" the lead in the 25th minute, and Lasso, Mena, Oscar Hinks and Claudio Goodridge added goals to finish the rout.
The result put Panama atop Group B, two points ahead of Iran and Spain, which drew 2-2 later Thursday. Panama next plays Spain on Monday.
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CONCACAF.comMexico beaten in Futsal World Cup start02/11/2012BANGKOK, Thailand - Mexico surrendered a goal within 4½ minutes and lost its Futsal World Cup debut 5-1 to Argentina on Friday.
Santiago Basile put Argentina ahead when his shot ricocheted off the post, hit the back the head of Mexican keeper Miguel Estada and bounded into the goal.
Maximiliano Rescia and Martin Amas both had goals before Cristian Borruto tacked on a pair within 90 seconds midway through the second half to stake Argentina to a 5-0 lead by the 31st minute.
Mexico, which had more of the possession, was outshot 37-35, but Argentina had a significant advantage in shots on goal, 20-7.
The result left Mexico in third place in Group D, three points behind Italy and Argentina, and ahead on goal difference ahead of Australia, which lost 9-1 to the Italians.
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CONCACAF.comGuatemala rallies twice to win at Futsal WC03/11/2012BANGKOK, Thailand - Guatemala twice rallied from a one-goal deficit, scoring four times in the second half to beat Futsal World Cup debutant Colombia 5-2 Saturday in the opening game for both.
Armando Escobar equalized in the 28th minute, and Alan Aguilar and Erick Acevedo added goals within a minute of each other midway through the second period to pace "Los Chapines" to a victory that left it in second place in Group F. Russia led the group after routing the Solomon Islands 16-0 in a match later Saturday.
It was the second straight time Guatemala has begun the World Cup with a victory, having beaten Egypt 1-0 four years ago in Brazil.
Colombia countered to go ahead in the seventh minute with a goal by Alejandro Serna. Jose Gonzalez, who led Guatemala with three goals at the CONCACAF Championship in July, equalized in the 12th minute but the South Americans restored their lead within seven minutes.
Escobar equalized a second time in the 29th minute, and Aguilar put Guatemala ahead for the first time by converting a penalty in the 31st. Acevedo added insurance 55 seconds later and Walter Enriquez completed the scoring with 38 seconds remaining in the match.
Guatemala will have its biggest test of the first round next on Tuesday when it faces Russia.
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CONCACAF.comTicos revive Futsal World Cup hopes04/11/2012BANGKOK, Thailand - Edwin Cubillo scored three second-half goals and Costa Rica overcame a two-goal deficit to beat Paraguay 6-3 Sunday to revive its chances of reaching the second round at the Futsal World Cup.
The result left the CONCACAF champion in third place in Group A with three points, trailing Ukraine by one point and just behind host Thailand on goal difference. Ukraine defeated Thailand 5-3 in another match Sunday.
Paraguay jumped ahead after 1:41 when Costa Rican keeper Jairo Toruna had the final touch to knocked Fabio Alcaraz's kick-in into his own net. Alcaraz then doubled the lead nine minutes later, sprinting past Diego Zuniga and scoring with a drive from the right touchline.
Zuniga began Costa Rica's rally two minutes into the second half, volleying Cubillo's diagonal pass into the penalty area past Paraguay keeper Carlos Espinola.
Costa Rica equalized in the 25th minute when Cubillo intercepted a ball at midcourt, worked his way around the left and sent a cross in front of goal that struck Luis Navarette's hip, deflected off Paraguayan defender Gabriel Ayala onto the crossbar and dropped for Navarette to prod in at the left post.
Cubillo scored his first less than two minutes later to give Costa the lead, Navarette added a second a minute after that and Cubillo tacked on a second in the 31st with Ayala wearing the goalkeeper's jersey to put the Ticos ahead 5-2.
Walter Villalba pulled Paraguay within two in the 37th, but Cubillo restored the margin with 16 second left with another empty-net goal.
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