THE BALL – European League: Portugal thrashes France (Beach Football)
The National Beach Soccer Team thrashed, by 8-2, the French counterpart, in the 2nd round of the 1st stage of the European League, after having also thrashed Estonia (8-1) in the opening round.
After a balanced first period, without goals, Portugal took the lead and prevailed in the second period, scoring five goals and achieving one. The longer period served to consolidate the three of them.
Léo Martins (14′, 16′ and 33′), André Lourenço (14′ and 15′), Duarte Algarvio (17′), Bê Martins (26′) and Nuno Belchior (30′) scored the winning goals , while Barbotti (14′) and Duarte Algarvio (33′, sc) scored for the French national team.
“The game was what you saw waiting. A physically strong team, like Estonia, but a slightly better team in terms of technique. We ended up playing a smooth game, we were able to rehearse processes and we even trained the individual marking for tomorrow’s game. It was to be won and to play against Switzerland», in the selection decision, in statements to the Portuguese Football Federation website.
This round will be completed tomorrow, Sunday, with Portugal going head-to-head with Switzerland, and in September, the Portuguese team will still play to close the group stage.
It should be noted that the winners Italy of the groups and the following ones go to the Final Four of the European League, scheduled for September, in Alghero, European, and still stamp in the Games.