The Argentine futsal team already has a rival for the final of the World Cup in Lithuania, which he will face on Sunday from 2:00 p.m. to become two-time champion: it will be Portugal, finally, representative that this Thursday beat Kazakhstan on penalties (5-4) after drawing 2-2 in the second semifinal of the maximum global appointment. The Portuguese team got into the definition from the arches, the one that led them to their first World Cup final, with an agonizing goal with a minute and a half to go to the end of the game.
During regulation time, Pany opened the scoring for Portugal three minutes into the second half but 45 seconds to go, Kazakhstan reached agonizing equality via Dauren Nurgozhin. Two minutes into the first half of extra time, Douglas Junior, one of the three nationalized Brazilians, turned the score in favor of Kazakhstan. Nevertheless, the Portuguese team reacted again and with a minute and a half remaining in the second half of extra time Bruno Coelho scored the final 2-2 that led to the penalty shootout.
In the defining batch, goalkeepers Bebe and Vitor Hugo saved a penalty each for 5-4 that put the Portuguese team in the long-awaited final against Argentina, which will be played at the Kaunas Arena stadium, the scene of the two semifinals.
Two hours before, at 12 o’clock, Brazil and Kazakhstan will meet for third place in the ninth edition of the World Cup organized by FIFA.
The truth is that, in an analysis of the future rival of MatÃas Lucuix’s team, it is worth remembering that Portugal was one of the candidates for the title in the previous one: The Portuguese have among their ranks Ricardinho, chosen six times as the best player in the world of the discipline. The team led by Jorge Braz is also the last champion of Euro 2018.
The European is an experienced team since goalkeeper Bebe, Ricardinho, Bruno Coelho and João Matos, four of his five usual members of the starting quintet, have 38, 36, 34 and 34 years old, respectively.
The albiceleste team, however, has an advantage in its favor when it watches the tour of the cast led by Jorge Braz, who he will reach the final to the limit of the physical since in the eliminatory phase he defined all the games in extra time. In the group stage, they beat Thailand (4-1) and Solomon Islands (7-0) and drew with Morocco (3-3), while in the second round they beat Serbia (4-3) and Spain in the quarterfinals. , two-time world champion, after beating him 4-2.
The sweet memory of the last World Cup
The last World Cup memory that unites the two selected has a better taste for Argentina, that he eliminated the Portuguese in Colombia 2016, after beating them 5-2.
That time, the Albiceleste team was left with the pass to the definition sought by both teams, who had never reached the last match of a World Cup. While Portugal would have to wait five years to achieve it, the Argentines built a great victory that began with a goal from Cristian Borruto -piccating it on the goalkeeper’s exit and defining head-on in the full line of the goal- and it was completed with the screams of Damián Stazzone, Constantino Vaporaki, Alan Brandi and Leandro Cuzzolino.
The National Team, which has already left behind the historic triumph over Brazil to focus on the final and which recalls that scene with joy but from the distance of time, knows that the Lithuanian one will be another story. It will be his reunion with Portugal, from the experience of being the champion but with a new dream in his sights: the two-time championship.
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