|
|
|
 News from Around Banderas Bay | April 2008 
Day Two at FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2008 Qualifier Matches
 Hans Vandamme & Bob Cohen - PVNN
 BanderasNews is very fortunate to have Beach Soccer Press Manager Hans Vandamme of Belgium and now residing in Barcelona, Spain assist us in reporting daily match results, photos and quotes from coaches and players. Hans will also be keeping our readers updated on all the qualifiers around the globe until the final 16 teams reach the finals in Marseilles, France. It is great to have Hans on board the BanderasNews team. To access more information about the growing sport, visit BeachSoccer.com.
El Salvador Upsets US, MEX Destroys Costa Rica
What seemed to be a walk in the park for the Americans prior to the game turned out to be the most exciting game of the Puerto Vallarta showdown thus far. El Salvador surprised yesterday's heroes by beating them 6-5. Only 7 seconds into the game the U.S. scored but 5 seconds later El Salvador tied the match at 1-1. The Central America team scored to take the lead and the Americans answered to end the 1st period tied 2-2.
El Salvador appeared to be more aggressive and the American team more calculating and aggressiveness gave the Central American team a 4-2 lead in the 2nd period before the U.S. closed the lead to 4-3 after two periods.
El Salvador opened the final period with 2 goals in the first two minutes to open up a 6-3 lead and appeared to have caught the Americans off guard. The Americans made a valiant run, scoring 2 goals to close the game to 6-5 but as the final moments ticked away goalkeeper and El Salvador captain Rodas kept his team in the game with some breathtaking saves and led his team to victory against the tournament favorites.
Both teams are now 1-1 in match play with 3 points each. The upset set up a number of possibilities that could affect all four teams and as of Saturday night, not one team had clinched yet.
Mexico easily won their match by destroying Costa Rica 7-0, but even Costa Rica who is the only 0-2 team can still mathematically qualify. Mexico is 2-0 with 6 points and faces the U.S. team tomorrow at 6:30 pm. The opening match will have Costa Rica looking to win their match and await the outcome of the final match. Had the U.S, won their game they would have qualified with Mexico and the final day would have meant nothing in the race to France. But that is why they play the games.
2008 World Cup Beach Soccer Qualifying Results:
April 20 - click here for report
Mexico 5 x All Stars 2
April 19 - click here for report
El Salvador 4 x Costa Rica 3
Mexico 2 - USA 1
April 18
El Salvador 6 x USA 5
Mexico 7 - Costa Rica 0
April 17 - click here for report
USA 7 x Costa Rica 2
Mexico 4 - El Salvador 2
 Click here for the complete second matchday report (PDF)
The play has quite different rules than traditional soccer. The games are played in three 12 minute periods and if won in regulation the winner receives 3 points. If the game is tied and goes to overtime and the extra period is only 3 minutes. If still tied, it goes to a shootout until a winner is determined. An overtime victory is worth only 2 points. The top two teams in the Puerto Vallarta qualifier will play for the championship in France in July.
There will be 16 qualifying teams that reach the championship and will be divided into four groups that will play round robin games; the same system utilized in Puerto Vallarta. The top two teams in each division will reach the quarterfinals, leaving 8 teams remaining. These teams will play only one game to determine who advances to the semifinals. The winners will play in the finals for the world championship. In 2007, in Rio De Janeiro Brazil defeated Mexico in the finals. The U.S.A. team finished 13th.
 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2008
Follow the competition from Durban, to Puerto Vallarta, Buenos Aires, Dubai, and Benidorm on the road leading up to the final championship matches in Marseille, France, the host country for the 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us