We now know the four men’s teams and four women’s teams that will be competing for medals at the FISU World University Championships Futsal. The Brazilian women’s team has a chance to defend its title. Both teams from the Polish University National Team are also among the top contenders.
The final match of the women’s group stage was played at the arenas in Bemowo and Pruszkow. The Finnish team earned its first point with a 2:2 draw against Germany. The Finnish team took the lead one minute into the game, but their opponents quickly equalized. Both teams had scoring opportunities, but the game remained tied for a long time. With just under three minutes left in the match, the Germans took a 2:1 lead. However, the Finns managed to respond with a goal to tie the score at 2:2, and the match ended in a draw.
The Portuguese women confidently won their fourth match and, with a perfect record, took first place in Group A. They thus confirmed that they are among the top contenders for medals at this year’s World Youth Championship and should be considered serious contenders for the title. From the start of the match against Chinese Taipei, Portugal held the advantage and needed just over four minutes to score the first goal. The Portuguese continued to attack, while their opponents were saved from conceding further goals by the posts, the crossbar, and the goalkeeper’s effective play. Ultimately, the favorites scored a second goal and led 2:0 at halftime.
After the break, Chinese Taipei fought for a consolation goal, but it was Portugal that extended its lead. In the final minute, the Portuguese scored their fifth goal, and in the closing moments, they capitalized on their opponents’ off-the-line play to seal the match at 6–0 by scoring into an empty net. Margarida Cavalho scored twice, bringing her total to six goals after the group stage. “We’re very happy with the group stage. It’s important that we managed to win today without conceding a goal. Now we have to focus on the next match,” the player said. In Monday’s semifinals, the Polish team will face Brazil, while Portugal will take on Germany.
After a very exciting match, France defeated Lebanon 5:4. The French took the lead in the fifth minute of the game, but just two minutes later, the Lebanese tied the score with a spectacular goal. Both teams fought hard for more goals. At times, the French took risks by playing with a flying goalkeeper, a strategy their opponents capitalized on to take a 2–1 lead. That was the score at halftime.
The second half began with another goal by Lebanon, which extended its lead to 3:1. The French, however, kept up their attacks and quickly scored a goal to close the gap. In the 10th minute of the second half, they tied the score at 3:3, and moments later took the lead at 4:3. In the closing minutes of the match, France scored their fifth goal, to which the Lebanese team responded with one more goal.
Toward the end of the group stage of the women’s tournament in Pruszkow, two teams that had yet to earn a single point faced off against each other. At stake in the match between Costa Rica and the United States was fourth place in the group and the right to compete for 7th place in the FISU World University Championship. The Costa Rican team earned a well-deserved 4:1 victory and will face Lebanon in the match for 7th place.
In the afternoon, the men’s quarterfinal matches took place. In the most exciting match, France was already leading Brazil 2:0, but ultimately the “Tricolors” lost 2:3. France had taken the lead after an own goal by their opponents and a goal by Leo Fajtra. Meanwhile, Joao Pinto Meleges da Cunha emerged as the hero for the “Canarinhos”, scoring a hat trick!
After a string of victories in the group stage, the Polish University Team defeated Saudi Arabia 6:2. The match got off to an even start. However, five minutes into the game, Grzegorz Haraburda scored the first goal for Poland with a long-range shot. With 7 minutes remaining in the first half, Omar Al Sakait tied the score at 1:1. Although the Saudis had a chance to take a 2:1 lead, the “White-and-Reds” regained the lead. Grzegorz Haraburda scored for Poland, and just a few seconds later, it was 3:1 after a goal by Kacper Pawlus. The second half began with a goal by Oskar Szczepański. The sixth goal for Poland was scored by goalkeeper Jakub Florek during a power play. – We know what kind of team we have and what we’re capable of. We came here to fight for a spot in the medal round. The start of the match against Saudi Arabia was even, but later we managed to score a few goals. However, we need to eliminate the simple mistakes that happened toward the end of the match – said Oskar Szczepanik of the Polish University Team.
Somewhat overshadowed by the battle for the semi-finals, matches to determine final standings were also underway, as all teams are set to play until the last day. In the contests for places 9–16, Finland won with the USA (10:1), Lithuania lost to Costa Rica (2:3), Cyprus fell to New Zeland (1:5), and Georgia defeated Israel (3:2).
The event is organized by the University Sports Association of Warsaw and the University Sports Association of Poland. FISU is a co-organizer. The main partners of the championships are: the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, the Capital City of Warsaw, the Mazovia Province Local Government, and the Bemowo District Partners include: Lotto, Toyota W&J Wiśniewski Dealership, Arche Hotels, Dawtona Poland, and the Warsaw Commuter Railway Sports partners: the Polish Football Association, the Polish Handball Association, the Pruszkow Culture and Sports Center, OSIR Bemowo, and OSiR Włochy Honorary patronage of the event was provided by: the Mayor of Warsaw—Mr. Rafał Trzaskowski; the Marshal of the Mazovia Province—Mr. Adam Struzik; the Minister of Sport and Tourism—Mr. Jakub Rutnicki; the Minister of Science and Higher Education—Mr. Marcin Kulasek; the Minister of National Defense—Mr. Władysław Kosiniak Kamysz, and the Pruszków County Administrator—Mr. Adrian Ejssymont. The competition is held under the honorary patronage of the Mayor of Pruszków—Mr. Piotr Bąk. Media patronage for the event is provided by TVP Warszawa and the futsal-polska.pl website.
8 Jul
