Challenge

Netherlands Arena
Spectators: 47 (Terracing: 36, Seating: 11, VIP seats: 0) Netherlands's Gijsbert ter Kruimer started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. 4 minutes into the game, Eleven Young Elephants's Enzo Perez nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Arnout Reekers made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-1. Netherlands's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Gijsbert ter Kruimer in the 8th minute. The audience was convinced that Gijsbert ter Kruimer's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Aaron Tanti was relentless in the 9th minute of the game. If Gijsbert ter Kruimer had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 11th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Gijsbert ter Kruimer struck a weak shot in the 13th minute. Aaron Tanti didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Netherlands. Arnout Reekers made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Zlatko Zahovič in the 14th minute of play. Gustaaf Groeneveldt recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 16th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Netherlands's Arnout Reekers played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Severino Bueno in the 23rd minute of play. Gustaaf Groeneveldt received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 26th minute. Aaron Tanti tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Daan Jurásek made in the 29th minute of the game a throw-in that took a bad bounce and was taken care of by Netherlands's Lars Meesters. Arnout Reekers showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Severino Bueno in the 32nd minute of the match. Wim Wilmes sent away a hard shot on goal in the 33rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. With a little luck, Eleven Young Elephants's Aaron Tanti got control of the ball when Gustaaf Groeneveldt tried to sneak it across the goal line. In the 42nd minute of the match, Gustaaf Groeneveldt got a very nice opportunity to score, but Aaron Tanti was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. Aaron Tanti didn't succeed in stopping the ball in the 42nd minute, which inside left pole to 1-1. If Gustaaf Groeneveldt had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 45th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Aaron Tanti showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Lars Meesters in the 46th minute of the match. The fans had the chance to grab some refreshments as the whistle went for half-time. The score stood at 1-1 after a close first half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Severino Bueno to make the kick off. Darren Carabott might have been able to make a better finish in the 54th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Arnout Reekers. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Darren Carabott ran back to his position shaking his head. In the 56th minute, Gustaaf Groeneveldt got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. 61 minutes into the match, Eleven Young Elephants's goal looked a bit too open when Gustaaf Groeneveldt came free, but Aaron Tanti reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Netherlands's Arnout Reekers played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Zlatko Zahovič in the 66th minute of play. 68 minutes into the match, Netherlands's goal looked a bit too open when Zlatko Zahovič came free, but Arnout Reekers reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Eleven Young Elephants made a substitution. António Silva replaced Daan Jurásek. The audience thought a goal was coming when Darren Carabott got free with Arnout Reekers in the 73rd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. 73 minutes into the match, Netherlands's goalkeeper Arnout Reekers had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Darren Carabott. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gustaaf Groeneveldt in the 76th minute of play forced Eleven Young Elephants's goalkeeper Aaron Tanti to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After a rather tough play, Eleven Young Elephants's Qu Peng Kang got a free kick in the 76th minute. Aaron Tanti showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Gustaaf Groeneveldt in the 77th minute of the match. In the 78th minute Severino Bueno shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Arnout Reekers saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 79th match minute, Netherlands was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Bas Tuitert to maneuver through the defense. Zlatko Zahovič struck a weak shot in the 83rd minute. Arnout Reekers didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Eleven Young Elephants. In the 86th minute, António Silva hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Aaron Tanti showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Wim Wilmes in the 87th minute of the match. 90 minutes into the match, Eleven Young Elephants's goal looked a bit too open when Wim Wilmes came free, but Aaron Tanti reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 93rd minute Gustaaf Groeneveldt shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Aaron Tanti saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Gijsbert ter Kruimer fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 94th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Aaron Tanti having to interfere. Netherlands were unable to convert their possession into goals, allowing Eleven Young Elephants to leave the ground with a draw.