PARAGUAY: Portugal defeated Italy 6-4 in elevating their level of play at key moments during the final of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Paraguay 2019, to become champions for the second time, having previously claimed a maiden crown at home four years ago.
Jordan and Leo Martins were the Iberians’ best players in the showpiece match, combining for five of their side’s six goals. Jordan, as well as Be Martins and Andrade, all received individual awards recognising their strong performances throughout the tournament.
The Italians, meanwhile, were forced to collect runners-up medals for the second time in their history, mirroring their performance at Dubai 2008.
Gli Azzurri took the lead in the match, but fell out of the game; once they began linking up effectively again, it was just too late.
Russia, who had earlier come back from two goals down to beat Japan 5-4, finished third. Forward Fedor Zemskov scored a fine hat-trick to take his individual tally to ten goals, a total that earned him the adidas Bronze Scorer award.
(Agencies)
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