Germany 3-2 Cameroon

 For a long time, it looked like Kevin's early miss might turn out to be crucial but Kevin and Germany made up for it later on. It was Cameroon who took the lead when Daniel's assist fell to Antoine but Germany equalised early in the second period, following a nice move up the right: Giovanni's long ball found Emilio and he swapped passes with his captain before scoring. Giancarlo provided another assist two minutes later and, this time, Kevin was on hand to finish. Just before the interval, Patrick's presence and dribbling opened up some space for Cameroon and Daniel was able to equalise.

Both sides tried hard to win the game in period 3 but they were careful to defend well too. And they did.... until Giancarlo played a lovely pass to Kevin and Ashton converted to take all three points!

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Giancarlo 3, Kevin 3, Daniel 2, Trym 2, Ashton 2, Adam 2, Giovanni Z 1, Carlo 1, Emilio E 1, Antoine 1, Remy 1, Patrick 1, Leopoldo 1

RISA Friendly: Ambrit 8-5 St George's

 Ambrit got off to a quick start, with two early goals from Hugo separated by a St George's reply. The visitors then stepped up a gear and banged in three goals before half-time to lead 4-2. A re-organised Ambrit then took things in hand as the second half started. Daniele made it 3-4; Antonio scored an equaliser and Ambrit pulled further ahead with goals from Emilio and Daniel (3). Kevin played well in defence, winning ball and coming forward. Leo too was solid at the back. Trym made a series of excellent saves. Daniele was everywhere. When Emilio finally woke up, his vision and passing were as good as ever.

TEAM: Trym, Leo, Kevin, Antonio, Daniele, Daniel, Hugo, Emilio

Wales 3-0 Mexico

 Wales banished the pain of a 2-0 defeat to Iran with this comprehensive victory over Mexico.

An own goal by Mexico opened the game up and Vittorio followed up with two more. Gabriele could have had a couple earlier on, with fierce shots that peppered the crossbar, the post and the goal. Ryan was busy and acquitted himself well. Sam and Carlo were solid in defence; Tiago and Dani created lots up front. For Mexico, lots of honest effort but the spark was missing.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Vittorio 5, Gabriele 3, Tiago 2, Daniele 2, Rocco 2, Sam 2, Carlo 1, Leo 1, Francesco 1, Ryan 1, Marco 1

 

Malta 2-1 Bielorussia

In un match serratissimo e condizionato dal nervosismo e dalla posta in palio, la spunta all'ultimo istante Malta, mentre la Bielorussia, dominante nella parte finale della gara, vede sfumare il passaggio in finale per una fatale distrazione. Colpevole anche l'arbitro - forse - nel chiamare fiscalmente un controfallo che si è poi rivelato decisivo. 

Veniamo al match: parte forte Malta, con Aurora sempre pericolosa, ma a siglare il vantaggio è la Bielorussia con un'azione fantastica di Bianca, pronta a sparare col sinistro dopo una respinta corta del portiere sulla sua stessa conclusione. Malta accusa il colpo e rischia di andare nel pallone, ma sul finire del primo tempo Martina serve in profondità Aurora, che la mette alle spalle del portiere.

Il secondo tempo rimane molto equilibrato: Malta avrebbe l'occasione ghiotta di segnare, ma la difesa fa muro davanti ad Aurora e si salva. Quando tutto sembra deciso, ecco l'episodio che cambia il match: a un minuto dalla fine l'arbitro decreta il cambio di rimessa laterale, Aurora si lancia in profondità e insacca. Le Bielorusse tentano un'azione disperata, ma Sara trova l'opposizione di Alessandra sulla linea di porta e Malta accede alla finale!

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Bianca 5, Aurora 3, Sara 3, Alessandra 2, Martina 2, Lubiana 1, Margherita 1, Tea 1, Naila 1.

ACLI League: Ambrit 2-6 Serafico BUT AMBRIT WIN 3-0 'A TAVOLINO' DUE TO OVERAGE PLAYERS ON SERAFICO

To use a tired clichè... this was a game of two halves! From Ambrit's point of view, the first half was a disaster. Slow to the ball, weak in the tackle, hesitant in attack... and 4-0 down at the break to a team with just one good player. Ambrit dominated possession, dominated territory but couldn't control the big No 10 in attack and paid the price.

In the second half, much improvement. Dylan put the No 10 in his pocket and passes were quicker and crisper. Cameron scored, Daniele scored, pride was salvaged.

BREAKING NEWS: 

AMBRIT WIN 3-0 'A TAVOLINO' DUE TO OVERAGE PLAYERS ON SERAFICO

England 2-4 Argentina

 Adrian pulled off a fantastic double save but Vittorio C beat him for the first Argentinian goal. At the other end, Victor was called into action too when Oliver almost finished off a good team move. Adrian then saved well from Tommaso but the 6th grader tried again soon afterwards and scored this time. Max added a third before the break. 

All seemed lost but England came back into the match in period 3. Hugo scored: 3-1. Oliver scored: 3-2. But, just as English hopes were rising, Steve made a match-saving tackle and Max crowned a great performance of speed and strength with a second goal.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Max 4, Hugo 3, Tommaso 3, Adrian 3,  Giovanni V 2,Oliver 1, Vittorio C 1, Victor 1, Steve 1,  Michael 1, Antonio 1

Wales 0-0 Germany

 On the eve of the opening match in Qatar, Wales and Germany fought out a grim 0-0 draw. A few shots here and there but nothing much to report. A Shakespearean occasion... Much Ado About Nothing.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Vittorio 4, Emilio 3, Daniele 3, Giovanni 2, Gianmarco 2,  Adam 2,Remy 1, Matteo T 1, Giulio 1, Tiago 1, Ryan 1

Malta 1-0 Croazia

 Una partita chiave quella che si è svolta ieri all'Ambrit Stadium: la Croazia - già qualificata per la finale - cede il passo a Malta, che rientra in corsa e si porta a 3 punti come Bielorussia e Islanda. L'ultimo scontro tra Malta e Bielorussia sarà decisivo per trovare la seconda finalista...

A dire la verità la Bielorussia è entrata in campo già con un atteggiamento dimesso, un po' perché aveva alcune assenze ed era sotto numericamente, un po' perché la posta in palio non era importante. Ciò non significa che Malta non abbia faticato a portare a casa i tre punti: l'ottima difesa e la combattività di Ella, la buona presenza in porta di Alessia e lo schermo di protezione costituito da Marina, Maeve e Sofia è stato molto efficace. Solo un tiro potente e preciso dalla distanza di Aurora (player of the Match) ha piegato la resistenza delle avversarie e ha permesso a Malta di portarsi in vantaggio.

Nel secondo tempo le Croate hanno provato a reagire, ma hanno trovato sulla loro strada una difesa agguerrita, in particolar modo Naila, dominante in fase di interdizione. Martina, Lubiana e soprattutto Aurora hanno lavorato bene a centrocampo, riuscendo a contenere anche le iniziative di Clara e Lavinia.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Aurora R 5, Naila 3,  Martina 2, Alessia 2, Alessandra 2, Clara 1, Lavinia 1, Ella 1, Maeve 1, Marina 1, Clotilde 1, Lubiana 1. 

Cameroon 3-2 England

An extravagant early goal from Carlo and another from Emilio set this game up nicely and it stayed even for some time. Cameroon nosed ahead when a shot from Lorenzo was allowed to trickle agonisingly over the line and Patrick made it 3-1. England tried to string a few moves together but with limited success. They did pull a goal back to set up a frenetic finish, Oliver cleverly turning an Emilio assist into the corner.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Giovanni V 4, Emilio 3, Carlo 3, Patrick 3, Daniel 3, Hugo 2, Oliver 2, Ziyi 1 

Bielorussia 4-0 Iceland

 La Bielorussia schianta l'Islanda grazie a una grande prestazione corale, anche se non mancano le prestazioni sorprendenti, come quella di Margherita - dominante in mezzo al campo e autrice di una doppietta. Ottime le prestazioni anche di Bianca Pt e Sara M che mettono con le spalle al muro l'Islanda, oggi particolarmente sottotono, tranne che per l'inesauribile Irene, che le prova tutte per rovesciare la situazione.

Buon lavoro di Bianca Pq in difesa da una parte e di Azzurra e Aurora dall'altra.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Margherita 5, Bianca Pt 4, Irene 4, Sara M 3, Sara P 2, Bianca Pq 2, Aurora A 1, Azzurra 1, Annika 1.

ACLI league: SF Cabrini 2-3 Ambrit

An evening kick-off under the lights, a stadium packed with passionate ultras, noise, fireworks and smoke bombs: Ambrit had it all for their first match in the ACLI league this year but none of it was enough to distract our team.

Captain Vittorio wins the toss

Cameron had an early chance in the first half but his angled shot sneaked just wide. Ambrit dominated possession, with Alberto slotting back into his central midfield role as if the summer break had never happened. Daniel played in goal and was solid. Carlo was a rock in defence, winning balls with his foot, his head, his chest; Dylan ditto: non si passa. Ambrit took the lead when Vittorio found Emilio on the right. He cleverly flicked it over the onrushing goalkeeper and Lorenzo helped it over the line.

The second half began just like the first: this time Lorenzo had an early chance

Carlo and Trym ignore the Ultras!

but pulled the ball wide. On a rare foray forward, SF Cabrini were awarded a penalty: 1-1. Ambrit now threw Daniele into the mix and got instant payback, the young striker making it 2-1. Daniele then hit a post shortly afterwards and, as Ambrit continued to press, Alberto made it 3-1. The hosts threw everything into attack and found their way through to make it 3-2 and set up a grandstand finish. But Ambrit hung on and deservedly went home with three points. 

TEAM: Daniel, Carlo, Vittorio, Dylan, Cameron, Alberto, Emilio, Lorenzo, Daniele, Kevin, Oliver, Nicolas, Trym

Croatia 2-0 Bielorussia

 Ancora due reti e ancora una vittoria per la sorprendente Croazia 🇭🇷  questa volta ai danni della Bielorussia 🇧🇾 . Le marcatrici, le stesse del primo match, sono sempre Lavinia e Costanza, ormai gemelle del gol...

Veniamo alla cronaca della partita: le bielorusse fanno paura, con Sara che subito prova a dribblare l'intera squadra avversaria, ma a lungo andare è una tattica che non paga. Cinicamente la Croazia va in vantaggio, quando Costanza sfrutta un'indecisione della difesa e piazza un diagonale a fil di palo.

La reazione della Bielorussia è rabbiosa, ma poco organizzata e i vari tentativi di Sara, Bianca e compagne non porta grandi pericoli dalle parti di Alessia.

Nel secondo tempo, un'altra mischia permette a Lavinia di segnare ancora una volta, lasciando le avversarie nella frustrazione di aver tenuto tanto la palla, senza davvero creare occasioni. 

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:

Clara 3, Ella 2, Costanza 2, Lavinia 1, Sara 2, Bianca Pt 2, Bianca Pq 1, Alessia 1.