U18 World League

Crypto.com Stadium
Spectators: 7481 (Terracing: 5612, Seating: 1720, VIP seats: 149) Vakoufi Utd's Zacharias Papagiannoulis 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. Aquilino Rey blasted a shot towards the goal in the 4th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Makis Karoubalis having to make a save. Zacharias Papagiannoulis fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 5th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Silvano Abel having to interfere. After a rather tough play, DeportivoIndependienteMDP's Guido Joanes got a free kick in the 6th minute. 8 minutes into the game, Vakoufi Utd's Zacharias Papagiannoulis nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Silvano Abel made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 1-0. The audience thought a goal was coming when Zacharias Papagiannoulis got free with Silvano Abel in the 15th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 21st minute, Alexandros Tsekouras hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Danilo Ramos's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Makis Karoubalis read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 23rd minute of play. Aquilino Rey received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 28th minute. Makis Karoubalis tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Christos Ouzounidis fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 36th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Silvano Abel having to interfere. When Angelo Quinto fell near the penalty area in the 44th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored DeportivoIndependienteMDP's protests and gave Angelo Quinto a yellow card for diving instead. A collision led to DeportivoIndependienteMDP getting a freekick after 44 minutes play. Angelo Quinto hit a great ball.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Danilo Ramos was the one to do the kick off. In the 55th minute, Ignatios Katsikis hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 56th minute of the match Aquilino Rey shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Makis Karoubalis showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Zacharias Papagiannoulis in the 59th minute of play forced DeportivoIndependienteMDP's goalkeeper Silvano Abel to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Christos Ouzounidis fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 66th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Silvano Abel having to interfere. DeportivoIndependienteMDP's Silvano Abel played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Christos Ouzounidis in the 69th minute of play. 70 minutes into the match, Vakoufi Utd's goal looked a bit too open when Danilo Ramos came free, but Makis Karoubalis reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Danilo Ramos fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 73rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Makis Karoubalis having to interfere. In the 75th minute, DeportivoIndependienteMDP's Angelo Quinto ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Makis Karoubalis. Makis Karoubalis yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 2-1. Danilo Ramos received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 86th minute. Makis Karoubalis tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. DeportivoIndependienteMDP's Danilo Ramos got a good chance for a goal in the 91st minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. If Angelo Quinto had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 94th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. With a little luck, Vakoufi Utd's Makis Karoubalis got control of the ball when Angelo Quinto tried to sneak it across the goal line. Silvano Abel made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Christos Ouzounidis in the 97th minute of play. The Vakoufi Utd fans' excitement grew in the 98th match minute when Vakoufi Utd's Zacharias Papagiannoulis looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 3-1 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. The home crowd let out a huge roar when the referee blew for the end of the game. Vakoufi Utd were victorious despite being under pressure from DeportivoIndependienteMDP for much of the match.