Courtesy: FIFA.com


Last 16 line-up complete>

19 Sep 2016

THE DAY REPLAYED – On the final day of group-stage action at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016, Kazakhstan, Iran, Costa Rica and Azerbaijan claimed the last four places in the Round of 16.

The day began with the last two games in Group E, with Argentina having to work hard to come from two goals down and force a draw against a Costa Rica side inspired by their keeper Alvaro Santamaria. The point pleased both teams. As well as allowing the Argentinians to finish top of the section, it also took the third-placed Ticos through to the knockout phase for the very first time.

Also making their debut in the second round are Kazakhstan, who finished runners-up in the group thanks to their ten-goal demolition of Solomon Islands, with Arnold Knaub, Douglas and Pavel Taku all getting on the scoresheet twice.

Over in Group F, meanwhile, Spain had to draw on all their individual ability to see off Morocco. Lozano scored a brace for La Roja, with Adil Habil replying for the Moroccans with two goals of his own. In the other game in the section, Iran and Azerbaijan played out a draw that took them both through to the next round, the Azeris becoming the second tournament newcomers to advance to the knockout phase at Colombia 2016, after Vietnam.


Results

Group E
Costa Rica 2-2 Argentina
Kazakhstan 10-0 Solomon Islands

Group F
Azerbaijan 3-3 Iran
Spain 4-3 Morocco


Memorable moments

Let’s hear it for Kazakhstan’s Higuita
Kazakhstan’s naturalised Brazilian goalkeeper Higuita is known both for his saves and his contribution to his side’s outfield play. Named after extrovert Cafetero keeper Rene Higuita, he has earned a legion of new admirers at Colombia 2016, with the fans at the Coliseo Ivan de Bedout in Medellin adopting him as their own and chanting their appreciation of him. Grateful for their support, the Kazakh custodian raised a triumphant clenched fist in appreciation.

Smiles all round
The match between Iran and Azerbaijan was watched by a group of 12-year-olds, who had been invited to attend by the competition’s organisers. Already delighted to be there, their day was made complete when a clearance from the court sent the ball in their midst. Scarcely believing his luck and flashing the broadest of smiles, one of the children held the ball in his hands. Though encouraged by his colleagues to keep the ball for good, he decided that the show must go on and threw the ball back on to the court.

The stat
6.81 - the average number of goals per game in the group phase at Colombia 2016, the sixth highest in the history of the competition, ahead of Chinese Taipei 2004 and Netherlands 1989, where the averages were 6.38 and 5.83 respectively. The first round at Thailand 2012 produced 7.17 goals, however, while Hong Kong 1992 boasted the most prolific group phase of them all, with 8.42 goals scored per match.

The words
“Kazakhstan is a boxing country, and us qualifying is very important for developing futsal. We outplayed Argentina, despite the result, and we did the same to Costa Rica and to Solomon Islands today. We’re not scared of Spain.” Kazakhstan coach Ricardo Sobral

“We’ve grown in confidence with every game, and I’m very pleased with how we performed today. Argentina play a dynamic game but we managed to keep them in check. It was an intense game but we achieved our objective in the end.” Costa Rica coach Diego Solis

“It was one of the best matches of the tournament, and I think Iran played a lot better than they did in their earlier games. They’re the Asian champions and one of the five best teams in the world, which is why we’re so pleased with the result.” Azerbaijan pivot Vitaly Borisov

“We made a lot of mistakes but we had the edge over Morocco in terms of possession and, ultimately, the result. We couldn’t create any clear-cut opportunities. They were very organised in defence and they’ve obviously got big plans for the future. They’re a great side and that’s why they caused us a lot of problems.” Spain coach Venancio Lopez


Round of 16 fixtures

Tuesday 20
Russia-Vietnam (Medellin, 17:30)
Colombia-Paraguay (Cali, 20:00)

Wednesday 21
Brazil-Iran (17:30, Bucaramanga)
Spain-Kazakhstan (17:30, Medellin)
Portugal-Costa Rica (20:00, Cali)

Thursday 22
Argentina-Ukraine (17:30, Bucaramanga)
Thailand-Azerbaijan (17:30, Medellin)
Italy-Egypt (20:00, Cali)

(All times local)




Courtesy: FIFA.com


Argentina's anarchic European

19 Sep 2016


Alan Brandi’s wide smile is more one of relief than joy, as he strolled through the bowels of Bucaramanga’s Coliseo Bicentenario, reverberating to the celebratory sound of dressing room reggaeton. No surprise, too, as his side had done just enough to achieve their goal of topping FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016 Group E, coming from 2-0 down to draw with Costa Rica.

Brandi isn’t your typical Argentinian futsal player, for a number of reasons. For one, he is relatively new to the sport, having only taken it up less than a decade ago. That, by his own admission, has given him something of an unusual style. “My futsal is a little anarchico, because I only started playing futsal while at university,” he explained to FIFA.com. “So it is perhaps a little crazy – certainly not perfect! No better, no worse, but unpredictable.”

At his first ever World Cup, and first finals tournament with La Albiceleste, the other key difference the 27-year-old brings is his Spanish upbringing. Born in Las Palmas, among the Canary Islands, to an Argentinian mother and father, he may own a European passport but his childhood gave him the opportunity to forge a strong bond with the birthplace of his parents.

“When I was a young I used to visit Argentina once a year, because all my family – my grandmother, grandfather, aunts, uncles – were back there,” he recalled of trips to Buenos Aires. “In Argentina the passion for football is incredible and I loved it so much as a child – I would always watch games from there when I was little. Even now my football idol is Lionel Messi and Argentina is just a country that loves football.”

Having moved to mainland Spain aged ten – to Alicante – those same family members can now be found huddled around the television taking in his World Cup exploits. “They are all watching back in Spain, where the games are being shown at 3am!” he exclaimed with a mixture of pride and dismay.

“My mum and dad are going to bed at 5am and then getting up two hours later. They can’t sleep, but they’re happy because I’m playing at my first World Cup! Even my wife and five-month-old daughter are watching them all in Portugal too.”

This is the same new daughter he dedicated the opening strike against Solomon Islands to, his first at a World Cup. “All day I’m thinking about her. It’s difficult to be far away from her, but when she grows up she’ll be able to see her dad has played at a World Cup,” the Benfica forward beamed.

The slight irony of their night’s comeback is that it denied Argentina a meeting with Spain – while had their plight got as bad as 3-0, they would have met Portugal. But swerving the two-time champions is for the best, he feels. “It would have been special, but it would have been a lot more difficult than we would have liked for the round of 16,” he laughed.

And reflecting on the comeback that saw them set a course for Ukraine, once again in Bucaramanga, on Thursday, Brandi knows what Argentina are best at and when they found that spark it brought about results.

“When we play with intensity I think we are a great team, but in the first half, and parts of the second, we weren’t playing to our potential,” he summed up. “But we had ten good minutes and that was enough.”

They begin on Monday trying to ensure they get four times that much when they step out in the last 16.


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com