RIO DE JANEIRO – Suffering was the name of the game as Uruguay eked out a precious 3-2 victory against Japan to earn a place in quarter-finals of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Rio
de Janeiro 2007. Waiting for them there are Nigeria.
Seven seconds were all it took for the South Americans to grab the all-important opening goal courtesy of Parrillo. Not that the early strike settled their nerves, Shusei Yamauchi
heightening the Uruguayans’ edginess when he levelled the scores.
The first interval came as some relief for Venancio Ramos’ side, but when Takashi Arakaki gave the men from the Far East the lead with a somewhat fortuitous finish, the pressure was
well and truly on. Captain and goalkeeper Diego kept them in the frame with two magnificent stops, while at the other end Shingo Terukina proved his equal with a brace of fine saves.
The final period saw Uruguay lay siege to the Japanese goal and after two gilt-edged chances went begging, Ricar’s subtle finish and a Pampero tap-in gave them the three points they
had been so desperately looking for.
The match between Uruguay and Japan would have been academic if Italy had won earlier in the day. Senegal’s Modou Thioume scored the equaliser against the Azzurri 90 seconds
before the final hooter however, before Pape Koukpaki scored his seventh goal of the tournament in extra time to give Uruguay hope.
France and Argentina knew that their match was winner-takes-all and in the end, it took penalties to separate them. Jean-Marie Aubry was the man of the moment, saving Gustavo
Casado’s spot-kick.
The group’s other match saw Nigeria, already assured of first place, play a UAE team with nothing but pride to play for. Again it took a shoot-out to decide the winner, with the Beach
Eagles winning the test of nerves to secure their third victory in as many matches.
With the last eight of the 2007 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup known, the draw took place in Rio to decide the winner of which quarter-final matches will meet up in the
semi-finals.
The winner of the last eight tussle between Brazil and Portugal will meet the winner of the Senegal-France quarter-final. The other semi-final will pit the winner of the Spain-Mexico meeting
against the victorious side to emerge from the Nigeria-Uruguay contest.
FIFA BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP – RESULTS
Group C
Senegal vs. Italy 6-5 a.e.t
Japan vs. Uruguay 2-3
Group D
France vs. Argentina 2-2 a.e.t, 2-1 PSO*
United Arab Emirates vs. Nigeria 6-6 a.e.t, 0-1 PSO
*Penalty shoot out
Quarter-final schedule
Match 25: Spain-Mexico (09h30)
Match 26: Brazil-Portugal (11h00)
Match 27: Senegal-France (12h30)
Match 28: Nigeria-Uruguay (14h00)
Semi-final schedule
Winner 25-Winner 28 (09h30)
Winner 26-Winner 27 (11h00)
Story courtesy www.fifa.com
Images courtesy Foto-Net
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