The 2012 Futsal World Cup is entering the business end of the tournament with the quarter finals kicking off today.
In true Darwinian fashion, the weak have been disposed of, ruthlessly in some games; Brazil showed Panama no mercy in their 16-0 second round victory, and the stronger teams have progressed to the quarters. All of the big teams are in the final eight, except for Iran who suffered a shock 2-1 loss at the hands of Colombia, and the final few days of the World Cup should have some tremendous matches in store for fans.
Russia have been superb all tournament, they dominated their group stage, and by beating the Czech Republic 3-0 in the second round extended their run of successive clean sheets to four matches. Their reward for their fine form is what should be the tie of the quarters against Spain. The Spaniards broke the hearts of local fans by knocking Thailand out of the second round 7-1. The two-time World Champions and current European Champions are a cut above most teams and with Torras bossing the midfield they have one of the best players in the tournament. The winner of this match will go on to play either Italy or Portugal in the semifinal. Portugal were the first team to qualify for the quarter finals knocking Paraguay out 4-1. Ricardinho was Portugal’s stand out player in their second round match and Portugal’s coach Jorge Braz will be hoping for more of the same from the midfielder. Italy knocked out Egypt thanks to a Saad Assis hat trick. Gli Azzurri have been tipped as one of the favorites to win the tournament and the match against Portugal will be a true test of their credentials.
On the other side of the quarter final draw, Colombia face the Ukraine in a quarter final match the South Americans could only have dreamed off before the tournament started. The un-fancied Los Cafateros will be hoping their goalkeeper Juan Lozano is in the same sort of form from their surprise victory over Iran. The Ukraine knocked out Japan with six goals in the first 16 minutes of their second round match, and the Group A winners will be looking to start in the same vain against Colombia. Falcao made a goal scoring return from injury for current World Champions Brazil in their 16-0 victory over Panama. The return of the revered midfielder makes Brazil favorites for their quarter final game against Argentina and the tournament. Argentina go into the South American el clasico as under dogs having lost all five of the teams previous meetings at world cups, but they do have a small psychological advantage over Brazil, they finished top of the South American qualifying league for the 2012 World Cup.
Schedule:
Argentina-Brazil (Bangkok, Huamark Indoor Stadium, 16.00)
Colombia-Ukraine (Bangkok, Huamark Indoor Stadium, 18.30)
Portugal-Italy (Bangkok, Nimibutr Stadium, 18.30)
Spain-Russia (Bangkok, Nimibutr Stadium, 21.00)
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