World League

República de Italia
Spectators: 7465 (Terracing: 5600, Seating: 1716, VIP seats: 149) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Evelio Pes started the match with the kick off. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Gilesindo Tarapiella during the 2nd minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. After a rather tough play, Los Galacticos's Gilesindo Tarapiella got a free kick in the 2nd minute. Evelio Pes could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 4th minute of the match, but Liu Zhou Feng made a huge save. 8 minutes into the match, Club Sportivo Italiano's goal looked a bit too open when Xiao Jian Bo came free, but Reynaldo Stephen reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Liu Zhou Feng made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Evelio Pes in the 11th minute of play. Reynaldo Stephen showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Gilesindo Tarapiella in the 12th minute of the match. Reynaldo Stephen showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Xiao Jian Bo in the 15th minute of the match. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Jiang Ang Xiao in the 25th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Reynaldo Stephen saved Club Sportivo Italiano from getting behind. Xiao Jian Bo hit a great freekick 29 minutes into the match. The audience was convinced that Evelio Pes's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Liu Zhou Feng was relentless in the 30th minute of the game. In the 33rd minute, Wilhelm Steinitz hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The audience was convinced that Xiao Jian Bo's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Reynaldo Stephen was relentless in the 36th minute of the game. Reynaldo Stephen took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Xiao Jian Bo, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 38th match minute, Club Sportivo Italiano was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Leon Egun to maneuver through the defense. In the 47th minute Gilesindo Tarapiella shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Reynaldo Stephen saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The fans had the chance to grab some refreshments as the whistle went for half-time. The score stood at 0-0 after a close first half.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Xiao Jian Bo to strike the kick off in the second half. Evelio Pes's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Liu Zhou Feng read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 52nd minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in Club Sportivo Italiano's zone, Xiao Jian Bo stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Reynaldo Stephen came out of the goal and Xiao Jian Bo tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After 61 minutes Los Galacticos's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Luisito Bikendi who took care of the corner kick. After 62 minutes, Pablo Aimar mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Los Galacticos and the Club Sportivo Italiano players grew even worse after the yellow card. Los Galacticos:s Liu Zhou Feng showed great skill when he stopped Luisito Bikendi:s penalty. When Long Fan Yang fell near the penalty area in the 66th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Los Galacticos's protests and gave Long Fan Yang a yellow card for diving instead. A collision led to Los Galacticos getting a freekick after 67 minutes play. Long Fan Yang hit a great ball. Jiang Ang Xiao scored 1-1 in the 70th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Reynaldo Stephen, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Xiao Jian Bo sent away a hard shot on goal in the 73rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 80 minutes into the match, Theo Hayles had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Liu Zhou Feng. Los Galacticos's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Theo Hayles was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-1. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Theo Hayles during the 84th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Liu Zhou Feng made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Theo Hayles in the 87th minute of play. When Evelio Pes came up free with the goalie in the 89th minute, the Club Sportivo Italiano fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Evelio Pes couldn't finish the play. After some fancy dribbling in the 96th minute, Pablo Aimar managed to get in a good position for a shot. Los Galacticos's supporters rose to their feet, but Pablo Aimar was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Reynaldo Stephen breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Reynaldo Stephen showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Xiao Jian Bo, who was totally free with the ball in the 98th minute. For all the effort they put into the match, the Los Galacticos players left disappointed. They had fought hard, but couldn't break down the home team's defense. The match ended in a win for Club Sportivo Italiano.