U23 World League

Arena Arizona
Spectators: 7970 (Terracing: 5979, Seating: 1833, VIP seats: 158) Alfredo Lopes made the kick off and thus started the match. Marcos Lama showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Alfredo Lopes in the 6th minute of the match. If Carlos-Armando Valderrama had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 11th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Zbigniew Wierzbicki kicked well hit freekick during the 14th minute of the match. Nedas Jameikis hit a great freekick 16 minutes into the match. 20 minutes into the match, A A Arizona's goal looked a bit too open when Gwidon Patora came free, but Hu Zhen Hong reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. A A Arizona's Hu Zhen Hong played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Juliusz Januszewski in the 21st minute of play. Veth Crystals's Carlos-Armando Valderrama got a good chance for a goal in the 24th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. 30 minutes into the match, A A Arizona's goal looked a bit too open when Juliusz Januszewski came free, but Hu Zhen Hong reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Veth Crystals's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Song Xing in the 33rd minute. The corner led Veth Crystals's Song Xing to fire away a dangerous shot which Hu Zhen Hong despite some difficulties managed to get hold on the ball. The audience was convinced that Zbigniew Wierzbicki's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Hu Zhen Hong was relentless in the 37th minute of the game. A collision led to A A Arizona getting a freekick after 38 minutes play. Jorge Ramos hit a great ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gwidon Patora in the 40th minute of play forced A A Arizona's goalkeeper Hu Zhen Hong to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Carlos-Armando Valderrama took the ball and in the 47 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Hu Zhen Hong. Hu Zhen Hong dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-1.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Gwidon Patora made a kick off. Veth Crystals's Song Xing shoveled away a really nice long shot in the 55th minute of play. The shot was stopped by Hu Zhen Hong but with some difficulty. Luiz Paulo de Queirós kicked well hit freekick during the 61st minute of the match. After 62 played minutes, Veth Crystals's Song Xing shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Hu Zhen Hong came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in Veth Crystals reached it. Jorge Ramos hit a great freekick 63 minutes into the match. In the 73rd minute Carlos-Armando Valderrama shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Hu Zhen Hong saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Zbigniew Wierzbicki in the 75thth minute had a little luck and got a chance for a shot in front of the goal. Without hesitation aimed to the right of Hu Zhen Hong, who managed to lunge to the right direction and made a save. A A Arizona's Hu Zhen Hong played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Gwidon Patora in the 79th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gwidon Patora in the 79th minute of play forced A A Arizona's goalkeeper Hu Zhen Hong to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Gwidon Patora in the 79th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Hu Zhen Hong prevented the ball from getting in the gole. The audience was convinced that Gwidon Patora's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Hu Zhen Hong was relentless in the 81st minute of the game. Zbigniew Wierzbicki fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 83rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Hu Zhen Hong having to interfere. Luiz Paulo de Queirós kicked well hit freekick during the 86th minute of the match. Marcos Lama took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Alfredo Lopes, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After a rather tough play, A A Arizona's Luiz Fábio Trigo got a free kick in the 91st minute. Hu Zhen Hong stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Gwidon Patora's shot from short distance in the 92nd minute. The Veth Crystals players were relieved to hear the final whistle blow to end the match. The away crowd was happy to see their team win after a very tight game.