Beachsoccer - Iran needed to defeat Italy in order to win Group B, despite winning their first two matches. Their first two wins were in penalties so the four points were not quite enough to clinch the group coming into today's match. The 7(3)-7(2) penalties victory for The Persian over Italy secured them first place in the group. Italy lost both of their first two games, too, and remains at the bottom of Group B. The Italian squad changed their lineup a bit and early on it seemed to work as they went up early and fought very hard the entire match but could not best Iran in penalties.
Two of the world's best goalkeepers were on full display in the opening minutes of the match as Spada of Italy and Hosseini of Iran were called upon to save their teams from falling down early. The Azzurri struck first on a direct kick by Palmacci to go up 1-0. Iran made the equalizer on a direct kick of their own, but the score stayed level for less than a minute when Italy nailed home a spectacular shot to go back up by 1. Only seconds past the midway point of the frame the Italians were awarded a penalty kick and they made sure to give their side the two goal lead. No lead is safe in Beach Soccer and The Iranian Lions exemplified that as they then scored two quick goals to bring the teams even again. The final minutes of the period included a red card for Italy, their player sent off, and they played a man down but their defense held steady and the period ended with a score of 3-3.
The middle frame began with the goalies taking some shots of their own as they wanted to score on their counterparts. Early in the period neither side was able to break the defensive code of their opponents. The middle frame saw Iran go away from their physical play, which had become commonplace in their opening matches, consequently, the speed of the game quickened and Italy and Iran found themselves in a delicate chess match in a tied game. The Iranians took their first lead of the match in the final minutes of the period on a rocket from their keeper to go up by one goal. That would be the only goal of the period and Iran went into the final break up 4-3.
Italy wanted nothing more than a victory in their final group stage match and the opening minutes of the final frame saw that desire as the Italians were very much on the attack. At the same time, Iran was not satisfied with the one goal lead, they put their offense in very good places to score but early in the period they could not. Italy was able to score the equalizer on a free kick from midfield that was kicked beautifully. The game would not stay tied for long as Iran scored to go up by one goal again. Nearing the middle of the frame, Italy was given a free kick near midfield, and Palmacci scored his second goal of the match. The Transalpine scored another quick goal on a long-distance strike that put them up by one goal for the first time since early in the first period. In the middle of the period, Iran had a man sent off the pitch but they somehow managed to score the equalizer while being short-handed. The Iranians restored their one goal lead late in the period off of a quick reaction to a rebound, but less than a minute later, Italy scored another equalizer. There were a flurry of shots to end the game but neither side was able to score and the game went into overtime tied at 7. In overtime both sides played nervously and did not take many chances on offense and the game went into penalties.
The 7(3)-7(2) penalties win for Iran over Italy means they finish first in Group B regardless of the outcome of the Russia and Brazil match, due to the head-to-head tiebreakers over both squads, both penalty wins. Iran will play either UAE or Switzerland, whoever finishes second in Group A, on Friday in the sem-finals..
Goals: 0-1: Palmacci, min. 7 (1); 1-1: F. Boulokbashi, min. 7 (1); 1-2: Di Tullio, min. 6 (1); 1-3: Frainetti, min. 5 (1); 2-3: M. Hassani, min. 4 (1); 3-3: F. Boulokbashi, min. 4 (1); 4-3: P. Hosseini, min. 3 (2); 4-4: Di Tullio, min. 9 (3); 5-4: M. Mesigar, min. 7 (3); 5-5: Palmacci, min. 7 (3); 5-6: Leghissa, min. 6 (3); 6-6: M. Mesigar, min. 5 (3); 7-6: M. Ahmadzadeh, min. 3 (3); 7-7: Frainetti, min. 2 (3).
Penalties: Corosiniti: score; F. Boulokbashi: score; Leghissa: miss; A. Naderi: score; Palmacci: score; M. Hassani: score.