PORTUGAL 2 - 3 Manga (393055529)

A brilliantly sunny day had enticed a crowd of 30400 to ARENA BJJ. Hannes Corciulo was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Kajetan Gorawski and Jaroslav Lenoch. PORTUGAL had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Gomes Guerreiro - Nevett, Sousa Vieira, Heide - Reece, Ito, Covas, Francolino, Malecela - Žalčík, Jakobs.

Manga tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. Lineup: Serralheiro - Bessa, Quintas, Rodrigues Esteves, Garcia Marques, Aguiar - Lameira, Pizzolato, Pinheiro, Rubim - Magalhães.

PORTUGAL seemed to prefer attacking in the middle. Manga clearly had decided to counter-attack when they could. It was a hot and sunny day, and several players seemed worn out. Maybe this was why K. Heide found an unusual amount of space for his snappy footwork. The most controversial moment of the game was likely the penalty given after 25 minutes. Manga's A. Pizzolato kept his concentration, despite the upset crowd, and calmly put the ball past the keeper to make the score 0 - 1. A. Garcia Marques of Manga seemed to be floating in the air as he elegantly headed in to make the score 0 - 2 after a corner kick that was nicely executed by A. Pizzolato. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Manga lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. PORTUGAL reduced the lead to 1 - 2 with 38 minutes on the clock when K. Heide got the best of a ball floated in from the left. PORTUGAL were determined to attack in the middle, even their wing attacks ended up centrally. 1 - 2 was the score after the first half. PORTUGAL claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 56 percent.

The bench was restless, and with 46 minutes passed PORTUGAL's coach gave E. Drążek the opportunity the player had been hoping for. M. Žalčík reluctantly left the field. After 46 minutes, PORTUGAL switched V. Ito with P. Rancón, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. The visitors almost increased their lead after 57 minutes when a sweetly hit free kick looked like it was heading for the top corner. However the keeper managed to get a fingertip to it, sending it over the bar. M. Lameira's speed is always a threat when he gets a little room to move, and 66 minutes into the match was no different as he broke free of his man to send a delightful through ball to F. Magalhães who knocked it in for Manga. 1 - 3! Manga almost scored after a swift counterattack 80 minutes into the game, but A. Rubim put the shot from the left flank just outside the goal. With the clock showing 83 minutes played, a great pass from the defensive line of Manga resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by A. Rubim in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave A. Rubim from Manga a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 84 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! At 86 minutes into the game, PORTUGAL's P. Rancón deftly knocked the ball home after an impressive run down the left, reducing the visitors' lead to 2 - 3. Possession in this half belonged to PORTUGAL, who controlled the ball 62 percent of the time.

PORTUGAL's best player was E. Sousa Vieira. On the other hand, A. Reece's play was disheartening. Manga's top performer was clearly F. Magalhães. However, V. Rodrigues Esteves made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 3.