Challenge

Estadio Azteca
Spectators: 47 (Terracing: 36, Seating: 11, VIP seats: 0) Mexico's Joel Gaona 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. When Luca Zorita came up free with the goalie in the 3rd minute, the Mexico 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 Luca Zorita couldn't finish the play. Dante Lacasa came out of the goal in the 6th minute to try and stop a shot by Tᴜʀᴋᴇʏ Lɪᴏɴꜱ FC's Benedicto Bihar. But to his dismay, Benedicto Bihar quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-1. Batıkan Muhsin took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Joel Gaona, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Alberto Tafalla received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 14th minute. Batıkan Muhsin tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Mexico's Dante Lacasa played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Helge Kozub in the 20th minute of play. Alberto Tafalla received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 23rd minute. Batıkan Muhsin tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. If Joel Gaona had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 27th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 29th minute the ball was on its way in behind Mexico's goalkeeper Dante Lacasa, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. 32 minutes into the match, Tᴜʀᴋᴇʏ Lɪᴏɴꜱ FC's goalkeeper Batıkan Muhsin had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Luca Zorita. Alberto Tafalla took the ball and in the 35 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Batıkan Muhsin. Batıkan Muhsin dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-1. Batıkan Muhsin took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Facundo Cadaval, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Dante Lacasa took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Benedicto Bihar, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 45th minute Joel Gaona shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Batıkan Muhsin 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 1-1 after a close first half.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Benedicto Bihar made a kick off. Tᴜʀᴋᴇʏ Lɪᴏɴꜱ FC's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Seçkin Öksüzoğlu in the 53rd minute. A nice corner shot did that Seçkin Öksüzoğlu got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Dante Lacasa quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. In the 56th minute Alberto Tafalla shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Batıkan Muhsin saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 57th minute, Alberto Tafalla got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Joel Gaona sent away a hard shot on goal in the 63rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Tᴜʀᴋᴇʏ Lɪᴏɴꜱ FC's Batıkan Muhsin played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Alberto Tafalla in the 66th minute of play. 68 minutes into the match, Lautaro Mancebo had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Batıkan Muhsin. Tᴜʀᴋᴇʏ Lɪᴏɴꜱ FC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Lautaro Mancebo was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-1. An unexpectedly hard shot by Alberto Tafalla in the 72nd minute of play forced Tᴜʀᴋᴇʏ Lɪᴏɴꜱ FC's goalkeeper Batıkan Muhsin to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 81st minute, Alberto Tafalla ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Batıkan Muhsin was frozen by the shot and now it was 3-1. Tᴜʀᴋᴇʏ Lɪᴏɴꜱ FC's Aykut Canel was substituted for Benedicto Bihar. Dante Lacasa made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Aykut Canel in the 87th minute of play. Dante Lacasa made a fantastic save in the 91st minute, when Aykut Canel sent off a good shot on target. For all the effort they put into the match, the Tᴜʀᴋᴇʏ Lɪᴏɴꜱ FC players left disappointed. They had fought hard, but couldn't break down the home team's defense. The match ended in a win for Mexico.