U23 World League

Maracanã
Spectators: 7650 (Terracing: 5741, Seating: 1759, VIP seats: 150) With a little luck, ΟΦΗ's Theofanis Marinakis got control of the ball when Niceto Xacintu tried to sneak it across the goal line. In the 7th minute, João Adolfo Cruz hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Josue Barro stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Nikos Kalkavouras's shot from short distance in the 9th minute. When the match had been going on for 20 minutes, Flying Dutch's Eurico Batista got an opportunity to shoot a penalty. He stayed cool and waited for the goalkeeper to move, before he confidently shot the ball into the goal, to the left of Theofanis Marinakis. 22 minutes into the match, ΟΦΗ's goal looked a bit too open when Luiz Guilherme Macedo came free, but Theofanis Marinakis reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 22 minutes into the game, Flying Dutch's Luiz Guilherme Macedo nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Theofanis Marinakis made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 2-0. An unexpectedly hard shot by Luiz Guilherme Macedo in the 28th minute of play forced ΟΦΗ's goalkeeper Theofanis Marinakis to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 29th minute of the match Flying Dutch got a corner. ΟΦΗ's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Eurico Batista ran over to the corner to take the kick. The corner ended in Eurico Batista almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but ΟΦΗ's Theofanis Marinakis did a great save. In the 32nd minute, Cido de Medeiros hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. When Fanis Kokkinopoulos fell near the penalty area in the 34th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored ΟΦΗ's protests and gave Fanis Kokkinopoulos a yellow card for diving instead. Flying Dutch made a substitution. José Vítor Rosado replaced Basilio Lain. In the 37th minute of the match Flying Dutch got a corner. ΟΦΗ's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Eurico Batista ran over to the corner to take the kick. The audience thought a goal was coming when Niceto Xacintu got free with Theofanis Marinakis in the 44th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. A collision led to ΟΦΗ getting a freekick after 44 minutes play. Babbis Prokos hit a great ball. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 3-0 at half-time.

The wind increased when Niceto Xacintu made the kick off in the second half. When the match clock showed 67 minutes, the score became 4-0 when Niceto Xacintu sped through ΟΦΗ's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Theofanis Marinakis. Josue Barro was out of position in the 72 minute of play, and Nikos Kalkavouras capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Nikos Kalkavouras really showed his touch with that goal: 4-1. If Luiz Guilherme Macedo had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 75th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 76th minute, Sakis Velakoglou hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. If Niceto Xacintu had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 77th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 82 minutes into the match, Niceto Xacintu had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Theofanis Marinakis. ΟΦΗ's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Niceto Xacintu was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 5-1. Theofanis Marinakis made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Niceto Xacintu in the 86th minute of play. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Luiz Guilherme Macedo in the 87th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Theofanis Marinakis saved ΟΦΗ from getting behind. Josue Barro made an important save on a dangerous shot by Giannis Tzanetos in the 90th minute. After some careless play in the ΟΦΗ defense, Rafa Capixaba kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Theofanis Marinakis. The ΟΦΗ fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Theofanis Marinakis should have stopped the shot. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered when the referee blew the final whistle. Flying Dutch had won after a very even match.