Rehabilitation of Brazil
After the first round, the 14-time world champions sensationally did not have a single point to their credit and shared the last place in Group C. Therefore, maximum attention was riveted to their performance in the game with El Salvador.
Another failure, although it could not cross out, but significantly reduced the chances of the Brazilians to get into the quarter finals.
But this has never happened to them in the history of beach soccer.
And by the middle of the second half, Gilberto Da Costa's charges were in a difficult position.
Through the efforts of Rodrigo, they took the lead in the second minute, but then conceded twice.
Exxon Perdomo converted a penalty, and Franck Velazquez punished Lucao for his sluggishness.
The Salvadorian worked great in pressing and made an interception, after which he struck irresistibly into the far upper corner.
However, the Brazilians did not give up and in the third period not only came out ahead, but also won by two goals (4: 2).
The main hero of the meeting was the striker of the St. Petersburg "Crystal" Rodrigo, who took part in each of the four goals of the national team.
First, he converted a free kick and scored a double, and then alternately assisted Krylia Sovetov player Felipe and his club partner Mauricinho.
The latter, moreover, could have scored a double, but could not score from nine meters.
Defeat of Belarus
Thus, Brazil not only rehabilitated itself for the defeat in the first round, but also immediately got a chance to break into first place in Group C. This could have happened if the identification of the winner in the confrontation between Switzerland and Belarus dragged on until the penalty shootout. However, this did not happen. The quarterfinalists of the last world championship, although they failed the starting period, subsequently confirmed their superiority in the class.
After the first 12 minutes, Belarus unexpectedly led with a comfortable score difference. Niko's wards conceded already at the 65th second, but in the period from the seventh to the 12th minute they upset the opponent three times. And if the goal of Dejan Stankovic with the "side scissors" was not devoid of elegance, then the scoring of Eliot Moon was rather labor. Two of them occurred after headers from crosses from the flank, and the last was the result of a long throw by the goalkeeper.
However, the Belarusians failed to keep the advantage.
The turning point was already outlined in the second period, when the Swiss closed the gap.
And in the course of the final segment, Niko's team collapsed altogether - in less than nine minutes, he allowed the opponent to score five more times.
Glen Hodel and all the same Stankovich issued a double, and he allowed Dejan to reach fifth place in the tournament scorers race.
Even the goalkeeper Munu distinguished himself with an irresistible free-kick.
As a result - 7: 3 in favor of the charges of Angelo Shirintsi - the head coach of the same “Kristall”.
Portugal's sensational defeat
The most unexpected event of the next game day of the World Beach Soccer Championship was the failure of the current trophy holders.
The leader of the rating of national teams could not do anything with the leaders of Senegal - Raul Mendy, Mandione Dian and Nina Diatta.
The first two scored a double, and the last scored two points according to the "goal + pass" system.
As a result, Portugal lost 3: 5.
The wards of Mario Narsiz should be doubly offended, because they led twice during the meeting.
At the tenth minute, this was facilitated by Vaughn's splendid overhead kick, and at the 25th minute by an irresistible "shot" to Andre Lawrence from a free-kick.
The trouble is, in both cases, it took the Senegalese less than 30 seconds to restore parity.
In both cases, Mendy was at the forefront.
However, the main anti-hero of the match was the Portuguese goalkeeper.
At first, he got too carried away with the attack and allowed the opponents to hit the empty net, and then he unsuccessfully processed a pass from his partner and made a loss a meter from the alignment - another goal.
The climax was the red card received one and a half minutes before the end of regular time.
Another sawn-off shot led to the fact that the goalkeeper had to stop the ball with his hand after hitting the opponent.
On replay, it is difficult to say whether it was done in the penalty area or outside it, but the referee undoubtedly removed the player.
In the minority, the “European Brazilians” conceded twice more.
Uruguay's two goals in the end
For Uruguay, the match against Oman was of key importance.
Yes, both teams lost in the first round of the group stage, but if the Oman national team unexpectedly gave a fight to Portugal, then Herman Parillo's team suffered a crushing defeat from Senegal with a score of 1: 6.
Taking into account the fact that one of the most important criteria in determining a place in the quartet is precisely the goals scored, this seriously complicated the South Americans' task of reaching the playoffs.
The Uruguayans needed to gain the upper hand over the main outsider of the group (based on the rating) and they succeeded, although not without difficulty.
Despite a strong start and a two-goal advantage after the first two periods, it was not possible to calmly bring the match to victory.
Responsible for this was one of the leaders of Oman - Salim Al-Zajali, who scored a goal and an assist in less than three minutes.
Everything went to a draw and overtime, which could hardly benefit at least one of the teams. But at a key moment, Uruguay succeeded in exemplary attacks, in their structure more like counter-attacks from big football. First, Matias Cabrera assisted Santiago Miranda and scored the third point for performance (1 + 2), and then for the second time, Nicolas Bella acted as an assistant. The final score was set by Luis Quinta. It is noteworthy that all this happened with a difference of 15 seconds - 4: 2