Photographie: Felipe Echeverría - Santiago Barcacel
The hosts secured a commanding win against debutants France. In the penultimate match of the second day of the VIII FIFUSA Futsal World Cup, the “cafeteros” defeated the “whites” 5-2. The Colombian goals were scored by Kewin Ariza (#7) with a hat-trick and Daniel Rojas (#13) with two goals. On the French side, Ali Beniallay (#10) and Melvin Prieur (#5) scored to narrow the gap. With this result, Colombia now sits at the top of Group A with 4 points.
The FIFUSA Colombian national team came into this match with confidence, following a 7-0 victory over the United States in their debut. Meanwhile, the European side made their World Cup debut after two days since the tournament’s opening.
From the start, the Colombians applied high pressure in their opponent’s half, leading to mistakes in the French passing lanes. Within the first few seconds, Brayan Ángel (#9) attempted to score with two powerful shots aimed at goalkeeper Clément Granjon (#1).
In the 2nd minute, after a corner kick in favor of the hosts, Kewin Ariza (#7) opened the scoring with an unstoppable header. Colombia maintained the intensity, and four minutes later, following a midfield recovery and two saves by the French goalkeeper, Daniel Rojas (#13) scored the second goal for the hosts.
France’s first attempt came in the 7th minute with a shot from Jessy Mathieu (#8). However, just one minute later, the Colombians executed a series of passes that ended with a through ball from Ariza (#7), allowing Rojas (#13) to find the back of the net again.
At the 14-minute mark, a powerful shot from Duván Mosquera hit the crossbar, causing a stir on the French bench. Four minutes later, a feint on the wing by Carlos Colmenares allowed Kewin Ariza to score his second goal of the match, putting the score at 4-0. Before the first half ended, another brilliant play on the left wing by Colmenares (#10) led to Colombia’s fifth and final goal, once again from Kewin Ariza (#7).
The first half ended with a convincing 5-0 lead for Colombia.
In the second half, France managed to pull one back with a free kick from Ali Beniallay (#10) that found the back of the net. This sparked a more intense response from the French side, and with 3 minutes remaining in the match, a series of passes down the right flank ended with France’s second goal, scored by Melvin Prieur (#5).
With this result, Colombia consolidates its position as the leader of Group A with 4 points and a goal difference of +10. Meanwhile, France will look to recover after the defeat and bounce back in their second match.
Lineups:
Colombia (Coach: Tomás Gutiérrez):
-#1: D. Mosquera (Portero)
-#13: D. Rojas
-#7: Kewin Ariza
-#11: D. Betancourth (Capitán)
-#9: Brayan Angel
Substitutes:
-#8: J. Viveros
-#6: A. Sánchez
-#10: C. Colmenares
-#4: M. Arciniegas
-#15: J. Romero
-#14: J. Vargas
-#12: F. García
France (Coach: Claude Barrabé):
-#1: C. Granjon (Portero)
-#10: A. Beniallah
-#5: A. Deco
-#8: Y. Elmajdoub
-#3: Q. Termeau
Substitutes:
-#5: M. Prierur
-#6: M. Tihar
-#8: J. Mathieu
-#9: M. Martin
-#3: S. Nepoty
-#2: Y. ElBovich
-#12: S. Merille
FIFUSA PRESS