Photography: Felipe Echeverría - Santiago Barcacel
This morning, the VIII FIFUSA Futsal World Cup continued with the fourth day of the tournament. The match between Costa Rica and Spain stood out for the number of goals, with Spain securing an 8-0 victory.
Spain, coming off a narrow 5-4 win against Chile, faced a more comfortable challenge against Costa Rica, who opened the tournament with a 6-1 loss to Venezuela. The Spanish team took the initiative from the first minutes, attacking with determination, while Costa Rica sought opportunities on the counterattack.
Both teams showed good ball control, moving the play from right to left multiple times, maintaining possession in both their own half and the opponent’s. Goal-scoring opportunities quickly emerged for both sides.
It was one of the most interrupted matches of the tournament, with repetitive fouls and throw-ins, making the game last approximately an hour and a half. Several yellow cards were given to the European team.
The scoring opened with Beñat Sanz (#19), who shot to the near post after a poor clearance by Alejandro Casasola (#6), putting Spain ahead 1-0 at the 19th minute of the first half.
Just 3 minutes later, at 16:03, Guillermo Bueno (#10) recovered the ball in Costa Rica's area and sent it into the net, scoring Spain’s second goal.
The cheers of the European fans grew louder with each foul and player collision, enhancing the atmosphere at the Bicentenario Coliseum.
After a timeout called by Spain, Costa Rica's goalkeeper Hector Fonseca (#18) experienced discomfort in his right foot and was substituted early in the match by Jafete Ballestero (#1) for the rest of the game.
At the 4:36 mark of the first half, José Ortiz (#3) received the first yellow card. In the second half, Román Zanudo (#9) received the second yellow card for a hard tackle in Spain’s defensive zone.
In the final minutes of the game, Spain sealed the victory with goals from Guillermo Bueno (#10), assisted by Íñigo Amezquita (#5) in the 16th minute of the second half, and a goal from Julio Luque (#7), assisted by José Ortiz (#3) at 1:05 of the second half.
The referee blew the final whistle with the clock at zero, giving Spain their second consecutive victory in the championship, while Costa Rica suffered their second defeat but still holds hopes of advancing to the next round.
Lineups:
Costa Rica (Coach: Julio Armando Corvalán):
Starters:
-#18: Hector Fonseca (Goalkeeper)
-#7: Pablo Fallas
-#6: Alejandro Casasola
-#10: Frander Sanchez
-#9: Marco Carvajal (Captain)
Substitutes:
-#1: Jafete Ballestero
-#20: Kevin Acosta
-#8: Pablo Montero
-#5: Jordy Limaña
-#12: Steven Flores
-#14: Vinicio Perez
Spain (Coach: José Veras):
Starters:
-#15: Francisco Cracero: (Portero)
-#19: Beñat Sanz: (Gol X1)
-#5: Iñigo Amezquita: (Asistencia X1)
-#9: Roman Zanudo: (Gol X1)
-#10: Guillermo Bueno: (Capitán) (Gol X2)
Substitutes:
-#3: José Ortiz: (Asistencia X2)
-#6: Antonio Benitez: (Gol X1)
-#7: Julio Luque: (Asistencia X1) (Gol X1)
-#8: Juanma Quintanilla: (Gol X1)
-#12: Mario flores: (Asistencia X1)
-#14: Diego Huarte: (Gol X1)
-#13: Javier Amezquita
Written by: Keyner Patarroyo
José Jaimes
FIFUSA Press 2024