July 30th to August 5th, 2018: Global Futbol Matches

The following articles provide a summary of matches and tournaments after the 2018 Global Futbol World Cup.

July 30th to August 5th, 2018

 

 

This week in Global Futbol:

 

In the Women’s Nations Cup qualifiers, Bhutan stunned Japan in the opening game with a 2-1 away win. Southwards, Sam Kerr had a goal in the third minute, but didn’t get another in the net until her eighth shot to lead the Australians to a weak yet satisfactory 3-0 victory over Vietnam. Iran, South Korea and Malaysia also posted 3-nil wins. The Philippines ensured a solid victory over the UAE, and Nepal surprised Syria with a 2-0 home win. 

 

Belgium managed to keep France to a 1-1 away draw thanks to a late Wullaert goal. Poland thumped Moldova 4-0, as did England over a disappointing Ireland and Serbia over rivals Bosnia and Herzegovina. Azerbaijan won the Caucasus battle over Georgia 2-0, with goals from Makarova and substitute Davidok. 

 

Brazil stated their intentions to not only qualify but win the Nations Cup with a 6-nil drubbing of Argentina, despite Thais Guedes’ red card and an injury to Marta. Peru kept Venezuela to a draw, whilst Colombia and Paraguay both scored three times in their opening games.

 

In Africa, Algeria held South Africa to a draw, as did Mali with Nigeria. Lesotho stunned hot favourites Burkina Faso with a 3-1 away win. Zambia, Senegal and Cameroon all posted 4-0 victories. Côte d’Ivoire smashed a lacklustre Malawian side 10-1, though with so many goal scorers, no player actually scored a hat trick. Grace, Amani, Mariene and N'Guessan all scored braces to begin Côte d'Ivoire's campaign. Ethiopia, however, kept Cote d'Ivoire's neighbours Ghana to only 1 goal.

 

It should be noted that Women’s rankings are arranged differently to the Men’s. The rankings are based on an ELO system, where results that do not go according to typical odds create a greater change in rankings. For example, if a lowly ranked side wins against a highly ranked side, their ranking points increase significantly. Where it differs in particular from the Men’s game is if they lose by a tight margin, there is a chance that nation can still rise in points, as, to give an example, a 1-0 loss to the number 1 side would be a good outcome. Also, home ground advantage plays a part in the rankings points allocated each match.

 

In other Tournaments:

Match Day 5 of the Physico Championship took place in six groups on Wednesday, while games in the UAE occurred on Sunday. Liechtenstein’s trouncing of El Salvador means they are guaranteed qualification to the Third Stage. Tahiti beat Morocco, while Myanmar defeated Egypt. Swaziland surprisingly saw off Poland.

 

In the Azbuka Cup, where mostly home-based players take part, Tajikistan kept Turkmenistan to a draw, while the UAE and Benin had wins. However, most countries see this tournament as obsolete, and Global Futbol are currently reviewing its worth.

 

Under 17 and Under 20 Men’s friendlies also were played, with the U20 Canadian side set to play more than any other, including Monday’s win over South Korea and the loss on Sunday to their southern neighbours. The Netherlands defeated Italy 3-0. San Marino repeated last week’s result with another 2-2 draw against Wales. Argentina held Colombia to a 1-1 draw, while Andorra fought back after last week’s lost to beat Kosovo.

 

In Under 20 Women’s friendlies, Honduras managed a win over Argentina, while Switzerland, Italy, Croatia and the Czech Republic drew away to Germany, Turkey, Ireland and Iceland respectively. Spain and Mexico had the game of the day with a 3-3 draw, while Poland easily saw off France.

 

Men’s friendlies included UAE defeating Australia 3-1, while Thailand drew at home to World Cup side Solomon Islands. South Korea needed four different goal scorers to trounce Slovakia. 

 

Lastly, Men’s Futsal friendlies took place, with Costa Rica easily beating Italy and Bolivia drawing with Qatar.

 

Next week sees the Physico Championships coming to a close in some groups, a return of the Invitational Cup, and Match Day 1 completion of the Women’s Nations Cup Qualifiers as well as second collation of matches amongst all African, Asian and South American groups, as well as some European groups.

 

July 30th U20 Men’s Friendlies ·      Norway 2 Ireland 0 ·      Germany 2 Japan 0 ·      Canada 2 South Korea 0 ·      Netherlands 3 Italy 0

July 31st U17 Men’s Friendlies ·      Paraguay 2 Uruguay 2 ·      Colombia 1 Argentina 1 ·      Venezuela 3 Peru 1 ·      Armenia 5 Gibraltar 1 ·      Wales 2 San Marino 2 ·      Andorra 3 Kosovo 2

August 1st Azbuka Cup ·      Turkmenistan 1 Tajikistan 1 ·      UAE 2 Uruguay 1 ·      Benin 3 Bahamas 0   Physico Championships ·      Group 28:  Tahiti 5-2 Morocco Anguilla 3-5 Greece ·      Group 21:  Myanmar 5-2 Egypt Guinea-Bissau 5-2 Faroe Islands ·      Group 31:  Seychelles 4-5 Peru South Sudan 4-5 Liberia ·      Group 32:  Liechtenstein 5-0 El Salvador Puerto Rico 5-2 Albania ·      Group 33:  Armenia 3-5 Moldova Swaziland 5-2 Poland ·      Group 34:  East Timor 5-3 Fiji Sao Tome and Principe 5-1 Hong Kong   U20 Women’s Friendlies ·      Ghana 2 Nigeria 1 ·      Russia 4 Portugal 0 ·      Chile 2 Cote d’Ivoire 2 ·      Japan 2 Netherlands 2 ·      Honduras 1 Argentina 0 ·      Uruguay 1 Colombia 1 ·      Germany 1 Switzerland 1 ·      Spain 3 Mexico 3 ·      Ukraine 0 Austria 2 ·      Poland 5 France 1 ·      Turkey 2 Italy 2 ·      Ireland 1 Croatia 1 ·      Iceland 3 Czech Republic 3

August 3 Women’s Nations Cup Qualifiers Asia A ·      Japan 1 Bhutan 2 ·      Uzbekistan 4 India 0 ·      Bahrain 5 Tajikistan 1 Asia E ·      Australia 3 Vietnam 0 ·      Philippines 4 UAE 1 Asia B ·      China 1 Thailand 0 ·      Iran 3 Palestine 0 ·      Nepal 2 Syria 0 Europe A ·      Iceland 3 Portugal 0 ·      Albania 0 Andorra 0 Europe B ·      Sweden 3 Ukraine 1 ·      Northern Ireland 3 Bulgaria 0 Europe J ·      France 1 Belgium 1 ·      Poland 4 Moldova 0 South America A ·      Venezuela 2 Peru 2 ·      Brazil 6 Argentina 0 South America B ·      Colombia 3 Chile 1 ·      Paraguay 3 Ecuador 1

August 4  Women’s Nations Cup Qualifiers Asia C ·      North Korea 2 Taiwan 0 ·      Jordan 1 Indonesia 0 ·      Sri Lanka 2 Afghanistan 1 Asia D ·      Myanmar 2 Singapore 1 ·      South Korea 3 Hong Kong 0 ·      Malaysia 3 Maldives 0 Asia E ·      Bangladesh 1 Iraq 0 Europe D ·      Wales 0 Croatia 0 ·      Azerbaijan 2 Georgia 0 Europe E ·      Switzerland 1 Finland 0 ·      Belarus 1 Turkey 0 Europe F ·      England 4 Ireland 0 Europe H ·      Denmark 4 Scotland 1 ·      Serbia 4 Bosnia 0 Africa A ·      Nigeria 1 Mali 1

August 5 Men’s Friendlies ·      Afghanistan 1 Macau 0 ·      Thailand 1 Solomon Islands 1 ·      Lebanon 1 Moldova 0 ·      Indonesia 0 Austria 1 ·      Kyrgyzstan 3 Myanmar 1 ·      South Korea 4 Slovakia 0 ·      UAE 3 Australia 1   Physico Championships ·      Group 29:  Burkina Faso 4-5 Iran UAE 5-4 Suriname   Women’s Nations Cup Qualifiers Africa B ·      South Africa 2 Algeria 2 ·      Burkina Faso 1 Lesotho 3 Africa C ·      Equatorial Guinea 1 Mozambique 0 ·      Zambia 4 Uganda 0 Africa D ·      Cameroon 4 Congo 0 ·      Côte d’Ivoire 10 Malawi 1 Africa E ·      Ghana 1 Ethiopia 0 ·      Senegal 4 Swaziland 0 Africa A ·      Zimbabwe 2 Namibia 0   U20 Men’s Friendlies ·      USA 3 Canada 1   Futsal Friendlies ·      Italy 1-5 Costa Rica ·      Ukraine 2-1 Romania ·      Japan 3-0 Namibia ·      Belarus 2-4 Tunisia ·      Bolivia 1-1 Qatar