U23 World League

Old Trafford
Spectators: 7532 (Terracing: 5650, Seating: 1732, VIP seats: 150) Manchester United FC's Taito Tuulola 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. In the 3rd minute, Genílson Munhoz hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. With 10 minutes on the clock, Percy Cunha commited a dangerous tackle. The referee had no choice but to show him the red card. Compugraf's defense didn't have a chance, in the 17th minute, when Erik Cantona scored to the left of an out of position Cássio Ribeiro, making the score, 2-0. After a rather tough play, Compugraf's Júlio Veiga got a free kick in the 19th minute. 22 minutes into the match, Compugraf's goal looked a bit too open when Ruud van Nistelrooij came free, but Cássio Ribeiro reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 24 minutes into the match, Compugraf's goalkeeper Cássio Ribeiro had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Taito Tuulola. Juha Jokiranta showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Alfredo Barbosa in the 26th minute of the match. 34 minutes into the match, Compugraf's goal looked a bit too open when Ruud van Nistelrooij came free, but Cássio Ribeiro reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 40 minutes into the game, Compugraf's Alfredo Barbosa nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Juha Jokiranta made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 2-2. After having played for 43 minutes, Santtu Pietiläinen managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Manchester United FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Santtu Pietiläinen was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. A collision led to Compugraf getting a freekick after 45 minutes play. Júlio Veiga hit a great ball. If Erik Cantona had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 46th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Alfredo Barbosa stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Taito Tuulola struck a weak shot in the 52nd minute. Cássio Ribeiro didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Manchester United FC. The supporters of Manchester United FC booed when Compugraf was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 53 match minutes in a wonderful position. Kléberson Lara didn't get a good kick on the ball. Ruud van Nistelrooij charged in rather forcefully in the 53rd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Ruud van Nistelrooij the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 54th minute, Ruud van Nistelrooij hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Cássio Ribeiro didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Erik Cantona went, in the 58th minute, to the upper right corner, 3-2 was the resulting score. 68 minutes into the game, Erik Cantona cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 4-2. Cássio Ribeiro was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Gustavo Neto hit a great freekick 74 minutes into the match. The audience was convinced that Taito Tuulola's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Cássio Ribeiro was relentless in the 80th minute of the game. A collision led to Compugraf getting a freekick after 80 minutes play. Júlio Veiga hit a great ball. After 81 minutes of play, Manchester United FC's Erik Cantona made it 6-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Cássio Ribeiro was left in no man's land by his defense there! Cássio Ribeiro took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Erik Cantona, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Genílson Munhoz kicked well hit freekick during the 91st minute of the match. Taito Tuulola took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 92nd minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Cássio Ribeiro. Compugraf's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. In the 95th minute, Erik Cantona made a precise shot to the right of Cássio Ribeiro. Compugraf's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 7-2. There were very few away supporters still in the ground by the end of the match. Most of them had left early, disgusted by the way their team had been torn apart. Manchester United FC fully deserved thier win.