All reports below are courtesy: FIFA.com


Ivanov wary of Brazil threat

Friday 3 October 2008

Russia have got off to a flying start at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008. In their opening game against Cuba, Oleg Ivanov's charges proved with a convincing 10-5 victory that they are one of the teams to watch out for at this year's tournament.

Ivanov, though, is uncomfortable with any talk about Russia being among the favourites to claim the coveted trophy. "There's no doubt that Brazil are not only the favourites in Group A but for the whole tournament. They are also the hosts which makes them even stronger," Ivanov told FIFA.com in an exclusive interview.

Despite the win, Russia did indeed show some frailties in defence against the Central Americans, who failed to capitalise fully thanks to their own careless finishing. An excellent performance by Russia keeper Sergey Zuev also helped to thwart the CONCACAF team.

Ivanov is aware that Russia could pay a heavy price for such laxity in defence against a Brazil team who are on a roll after resounding victories against Japan (12-1) and the Solomon Islands (21-0). "We made too many mistakes in the second half against Cuba. We really have to tighten up in the defensive department," Ivanov told FIFA.com.

Old foes
Russia and Brazil have met twice before at FIFA Futsal World Cups (Guatamela 2000 and Spain 1996), with the Auriverde emerging victorious with 6-2 wins on both occasions. "It will be a difficult game. The Brazilians will be giving it everything in front of their home crowd, and we'll have to work really hard if we want to stop them," explained Ivanov.

The match against the Auriverde will have a special significance for two players in the Russian team. Although midfielder Pula and striker Cirilo both play for the same Russian club, Dinamo Yamal Moscow, the duo were actually born in Brazil. "I'm already preparing myself mentally for the game against Brazil as I didn't play well against Cuba. As a team, we have to be focused going into the game. If we show the same slackness that we did against Cuba, Brazil will punish us," warned Pula, who scored twice against the Caribbean islanders.

A sea of yellow will confront Russia on Saturday, as thousands of Seleção fans crowd into the Nilson Nelson Arena to spur on the tournament host's. How Russia cope with the pressure will be decisive in deciding the outcome of the group as the victor will have every chance to go on and take the first place-spot. As an added incentive, the section winner would most likely avoid other futsal heavyweights like world champions Spain or runner's up Italy in the second group-phase matches.




Spain claim comfortable win

After being held by Iran in their opening match, Venancio Lopez and his Spain side were determined to defeat Libya and they did so comfortably at the Maracanazinho. A total of 23 shots on target compared to Libya's four and 70 per cent of possession tells its own story of a game dominated by the Europeans.

Lopez changed Spain's system to good effect, adopting a quickier and more compact approach and it paid dividends as early as the third minute when Javi Rodriguez put them in front. 13 minutes later they doubled their advantage when Fernando's precise pass found Alvaro who fired the ball home. 2-0 was how it remained at half-time, but it could have been more had it not been for the heroic effort of Libyan goalkeeper Mohamed Alsharif.

Despite vocal support from the crowd and some nice play from Rabie Abdel, Spain's dominance was still apparent in the second half. Lopez's side were content to move the ball around until their opportunity came, which is precisely how Daniel scored the third, and final, goal if the game. It was a confident performance from Spain who face Czech Republic in their next game on Sunday.




Argentina stay on top

Argentina strengthened their position at the summit of Group C with a hard-fought 4-2 win over Egypt in Brasilia.

The North Africans, beaten 1-0 by Guatemala in their opening Brazil 2008 fixture, proved worthy opposition for the Albiceleste but once again they ultimately emerged with nothing to show for their efforts.

There was little to separate the sides during some cagey opening exchanges but the introduction of the dangerous Marcelo Gimenez served to inject some much-needed spark into Argentina's play. With nine minutes played, a clever Gimenez back-heel came close to producing the first goal of the game, but the Egyptian keeper Hema was equal to the test.

Egypt were attempting to soak up Argentinian pressure and hit on the counter-attack, and while this ploy worked on occasion, their gameplan suffered a serious blow when the South Americans took a 17th-minute lead. And it was no surprise that the scorer was Gimenez, who followed up his hat-trick against China PR in Argentina's opener with an opportunistic toe-poke past the helpless Hema.

Egypt, however, hit back within a minute, Ahmed El Agouz restoring parity with a well-struck shot from eight metres. Hopes of an unlikely victory were then increased two minutes into the second half when the Africans snatched the lead, Ramadan Samasry capitalising on some shoddy defending to slot the ball home.

Argentina rallied quickly though, and were level within seconds when Diego Giustozzi converted a well-worked free-kick. Thereafter, only one side looked capable of claiming victory, with Argentina's goalkeeper Santiago Elias even lending a hand in attack.

With 32 minutes played, the pressure paid off when Matias Lucuix put the South Americans ahead following a neat passing exchange, and victory was secured in the final minute when Giustozzi rounded off a slick counter-attack.




Czechs check-in with win

Czech Republic got their FIFA Futsal World Cup campaign off to a flying start with a convincing 4-1 victory over Uruguay at the Maracanazinho.

From the first whistle, it was obvious that this would be a closely fought match and while Czech Republic shaded the game in terms of possession, the final score was not a true reflection of the even encounter in Rio de Janeiro.

With Uruguay switching off at the back, Roman Mares had the game's first real chance and after eight minutes it was the same player who gave his side the lead. That lasted for just nine minutes when Seba's scored from a rebounf.

Tomas Sluka made it 2-1 to Czech Republic five minutes after the re-start, but the goal appeared to galvanise Uruguay, who abandoned their counter-attacking tactics and went on the offensive. But as they poured men forward, gaps appeared at the back and Zdenek Slama took advantage of a wonderful assist by Mares to restore their two-goal cushion.

The South Americans never gave up but found Czech keeper Tomas Meller in inspired form and the final minute of an entertaining match provided even more drama when David Filinger scored from the second penalty spot and Pablo Lanza was dismissed for a second bookable offence.




Ukraine open in style

Ukraine entered the FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008 fray in the best possible way on Friday in Brasilia, winning out 6-2 against an outmatched Guatemala.

Valeriy Zamyatan opened the scoring for the East European after 13 minutes even though the Central Americans were the ones asking most of the early questions. Eduardo de Leon managed an equaliser for the Guatemalans two minutes into the second half, but parity didn't last for long as Sergiy Cheporniuk hammered home two minutes later to make it 2-1 to Ukraine.

Two goals in three minutes (26' and 29') from Yevgen Rogachov sealed the deal for the Ukrainians who went on to win by a justifiable 6-2 scoreline after Mykhaylo Romanov and Valeriy Legchanov added late insurance and Erick Acevedo pulled back a bit of consolation for the Guatemalans .

The 1996 fourth-place finishers, Ukraine, now sit in second place in Group B, tied with Guatemala, but with a game in hand. Argentina top the section with six points from two wins.




Joy for Spain as faves fire

Friday 3 October 2008

After an uncomfortable start to their FIFA Futsal World Cup defence, champions Spain regained their poise with a comfortable win over Libya. Argentina chalked up win number two at the expense of the battling Egyptians, while Ukraine and Czech Republic debuted with emphatic victories against Guatemala and Uruguay respectively.

The big game
Egypt 2-4 Argentina
Goals: Ahmed El Agouz 18, Ramadan Samarsy 22 (Egypt); Marcelo Gimenez 17, Diego Giustozzi 22, 40, Matias Lucuix 32 (Argentina)

After easing their way gently into the tournament with a straightforward defeat of China PR, Argentina were made to work much harder by a gritty Egyptian side. Marcelo Gimenez proved to be the Albiceleste driving force, and it was he who opened the scoring at the end of the first half. The Pharaohs turned the game around after the restart only for Giustozzi to restore parity almost immediately, the prelude to some exciting, end-to-end football and a tense finale. Despite regaining the lead with ten minutes left, the South Americans could not rest easy until Giustozzi grabbed his second right on the final whistle.

The other games
Spain roused themselves after their brush with defeat against Iran, recording a relatively simple 3-0 defeat of Libya. Rectifying the mistakes they made in their opening match, the reigning world champions gave the North Africans no room for manoeuvre on the break. Despite having the local fans behind them throughout, the Libyans had no answer to Spanish superiority, although as a return of three goals from a total of 51 shots suggests, the men in red will need to sharpen their finishing skills.

Czech Republic presented their credentials as serious challengers to Spain in Group C after thumping Uruguay in their first game. After an evenly contested first half ended all square at 1-1, the Czechs ran away with the match following the break, with keeper Tomas Meller dousing all hopes of a Celeste revival.

It was a similar story in the meeting between Ukraine and Guatemala, with the eastern Europeans stealing into a 1-0 lead before half-time. It was all change in the second half, though, as the goals began to flow. No sooner had they pulled level than the Central Americans began to fall apart, shipping a further five goals with only goalkeeper Carlos Merida standing between them and an even heavier defeat.

The player
Roman Mares (CZE)
The 23-year-old pivot (Futsalplanet note: 33 years old), who plays his club futsal for Era Pack Chrudim, had an opening match to remember against Uruguay. As well as scoring a goal, he produced a delightful back-heel to set up another and was a constant threat whenever the Czechs pushed forward.

The stat
22 - The number of corner kicks Spain won in their match against Libya, an indication of their superiority in a game in which they also enjoyed 71 per cent of possession and had 23 shots on target.

What they said
"Our best two players were out with injury and although we gave it everything, it wasn't enough for us to match our performance against Uruguay." Libya goalkeeper Mohamed Alsharif.

All the results
Egypt 2-4 Argentina
Libya 0-3 Spain
Ukraine 6-2 Guatemala
Czech Republic 4-1 Uruguay




Challengers eye next round

Friday 3 October 2008

The first phase of the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2008 has almost reached the halfway point and the stakes are getting higher with every game. FIFA.com looks ahead to what day five of the competition has in store.

The big game
Italy-Portugal, Saturday 4 October, 12.30 local time, Rio de Janeiro
After squeezing out three points against Thailand and hitting USA for six, Italy can all but seal their place in the second group phase if they beat Portugal, another team with genuine championship aspirations.

But with the Portuguese earning a narrow but well-deserved win over Paraguay in their Group B opener, the Italians will not have things all their own way, and the battle of the No 10s, Arnaldo and Adriano Foglia, should go some way to deciding the outcome. The two sides have only met once before in the FIFA Futsal World Cup, playing out the first goalless draw in its history in 2004.

The other games
In one of the most eagerly awaited duels in Brasilia, hosts Brazil can put one foot in the next round themselves with victory over Russia. Having dispatched the weakest teams in the section with ease, the Auriverde now face their first serious examination. The eastern Europeans showed they know how to score in their first match by putting ten past Cuba, but stopping the yellow and green machine will be a different task altogether.

In the day's remaining matches, Japan take on Solomon Islands and Thailand face USA, with all four sides still looking for their first wins of the tournament.

The player
Sergey Zuev, Russia
The goalkeeper was one of Russia's star performers in Thursday's win over Cuba, pulling off some vital stops to prevent the Caribbean outfit from getting back into the game. Zuev will need to maintain that form against the brilliant Brazilians, who racked up a total of 33 goals in their opening two matches.

The stat
4 - The number of times USA have faced Asian opposition in the competition. The Americans have an unbeaten record so far, downing China 7-1 and Iran 4-2 in 1992 and Malaysia 10-2 in 1996 before drawing 1-1 with Japan in 2004.

What they said
"The most difficult part for us starts this Saturday against Russia. It's going to be a defensive game and we need to be patient and stop them hitting us on the break." Betao, Brazil player.

All the fixtures

Brasilia
Brazil-Russia
Japan-Solomon Islands

Rio de Janeiro
Thailand-USA
Italy-Portugal




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