July 22nd to July 29th, 2018 Global Futbol Matches

The following articles provide an oversight for matches and tournaments after the 2018 Global Futbol World Cup.

July 22nd to July 29th, 2018

 

One week after the end of the World Cup saw friendlies amongst nations, as well as the return of the Physico Championship.

 

In the Men’s friendlies, most countries played their reserve sides, resting players featured in World Cup matches. This resulted in a few upsets and unusual scorelines. 

 

Malaysia held World Cup side Vietnam to a 1-1 draw in Hanoi before travelling to Uzbekistan and defeating an understrength team. Hong Kong slotted seven goals past the Fijian goalkeeper, with no reply from the Oceanian nation. Botswana and Greece both came away with 3-3 draws against South Africa and Cyprus respectively. Algeria caused an upset, winning 1-0 over France, whose side consisted mostly of third-tier players. However, it was Tahiti who defeated Japan in Tokyo that was the biggest surprise as the Oceanian side tackles the issue of re-merging with French Polynesia.

 

In Under-17 Men’s friendlies, the young Colombians continued the jubilation after their Men’s World Cup win with a 4-3 slug-fest over Brazil. San Marino’s youth team looks promising as they held Wales to a 2-2 draw.

 

As for Under-20 Women’s friendlies on Wednesday, the US team lost to Belgium at home. France could not defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina away, resulting in a 1-all draw. Austria thumped Spain 4-0, and Sweden overcame the Italians with a late winner.

 

The Physico Championship returned after matches played earlier in the year, with some nations having not played in this format since 2016. Global Futbol first introduced this match format to attract new spectators to the sport, as well as providing opportunities for typically-minnow nations to host mini tournaments. 

 

In the Physico Championships, teams must be the first to score five goals. Players are removed from the field �" three at half time and one every 10 minutes from that until the five goals are scored. 

 

Matches this week, hosted in Anguilla, Namibia, Guinea-Bissau, South Sudan, Puerto Rico, Swaziland, and Sao Tome and Principe, saw modest crowds as the nations battled for the second time. Having played each other previously in 2016, the coaches sought to employ different tactics from then to gain an advantage and thus qualification to future rounds. 

 

Surprises included Liberia keeping Peru to zero goals, and Liechtenstein defeating the Puerto Ricans on their home turf. Fiji, meanwhile, nearly turned around that 7-0 loss to Hong Kong in the traditional format five days earlier, only to miss out by a solitary goal.

 

Next week sees Match Day 5 of the Physico Championships as well as the commencement of the Women’s Nations Cup Qualifiers. Since Global Futbol gained the rights to the women’s game late last year, the Executive Committee felt the need to consolidate with a World Cup in 2019. However, with only a year and a half to prepare for one, it was decided a Nation’s Cup was preferable, and so a reduced-qualification style was arranged. Matches start on Friday with Japan hosting Bhutan, Vietnam travelling to Australia and China playing at home against Thailand. 

 

July 22nd Men’s Friendly ·      UAE 1 Kenya 4 ·      Vietnam 1 Malaysia 1 ·      Costa Rica 0 Guatemala 2 ·      China 1 Cambodia 2 ·      Austria 1 Malta 0 ·      Hong Kong 7 Fiji 0 ·      Iran 1 Burkina Faso 0 ·      Ecuador 2 El Salvador 0 ·      Namibia 1 Angola 0 ·      Ethiopia 0 Mozambique 4 ·      South Africa 3 Botswana 3 ·      Cyprus 3 Greece 3 ·      Japan 1 Tahiti 3

July 24th U17 Men’s Friendlies ·      Paraguay 3 Uruguay 2 ·      Colombia 4 Brazil 3 ·      Venezuela 2 Peru 2 ·      Armenia 4 Gibraltar 2 ·      Wales 2 San Marino 2 ·      Andorra 0 Kosovo 1

July 25th Physico Championships ·      Group 30:  Cameroon 5-2 Benin Namibia 4-5 Cayman Islands ·      Group 21:  Faroe Islands 2-5 Egypt Guinea-Bissau 5-4 Myanmar   U20 Women’s Friendlies ·      Cote d’Ivoire 1 England 2 ·      Ghana 2 Russia 1 ·      Mexico 0 Netherlands 2 ·      Chile 4 Croatia 1 ·      Japan 2 Uruguay 1 ·      Nigeria 4 Honduras 0 ·      USA 0 Belgium 1 ·      South Korea 1 Portugal 2 ·      Germany 3 Algeria 1 ·      Bosnia 1 France 1 ·      Austria 4 Spain 0 ·      Sweden 2 Italy 1 ·      Turkey 4 Albania 3 ·      Ireland 4 Wales 2

July 27th Men’s Friendly  ·      UAE 0 Vietnam 4 ·      Algeria 1 France 0 ·      Ethiopia 1 Kenya 2 ·      Uzbekistan 0 Malaysia 3 ·      Estonia 1 Austria 0   Physico Championships ·      Group 28:  Greece 5-2 Morocco Anguilla 5-4 Tahiti ·      Group 31:  Liberia 5-0 Peru South Sudan 2-5 Seychelles ·      Group 32:  Albania 5-3 El Salvador Puerto Rico 1-5 Liechtenstein ·      Group 33:  Poland 5-4 Moldova Swaziland 0-5 Armenia ·      Group 34:  Hong Kong 5-4 Fiji Sao Tome and Principe 5-2 East Timor