U23 World League

Karaiskakis Stadium
Spectators: 7524 (Terracing: 5644, Seating: 1730, VIP seats: 150) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Fabian Gipuzkoa started the match with the kick off. Italia's Gilberto Arias proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 3rd minute of the match, managed to save Italia from getting a goal against them. After 4 minutes Italia's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Panos Ntountas who took care of the corner kick. Italia's Gilberto Arias proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 5th minute of the match, managed to save Italia from getting a goal against them. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Theofilos Touboulis in the 9th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Gilberto Arias saved Italia from getting behind. Gilberto Arias made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Theofilos Touboulis in the 12th minute of play. Gilberto Arias made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Lazaros Tsakrilis in the 15th minute of play. Gilberto Arias showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Panos Ntountas in the 16th minute of the match. Panos Ntountas could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 17th minute of the match, but Gilberto Arias made a huge save. Dimitris Koudas hit a great freekick 23 minutes into the match. Panos Ntountass short, quick shot in the 26thth minute got Gilberto Arias to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. The referee felt a red card was in order, 28 minutes into the game, when Nicanor Costante put in a rough tackle. A collision led to Italia getting a freekick after 28 minutes play. Nicanor Costante hit a great ball. A hard shot by Panos Ntountas from long distance, 29 minutes into the match, got Gilberto Arias's attention. Through a fast twist with his body, he could stop the ball from going in on his right side. Gilberto Arias took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Lazaros Tsakrilis, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Gilberto Arias showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Lazaros Tsakrilis in the 32nd minute of the match. In the 34th match minute, Italia was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Braulio Nalo to maneuver through the defense. In the 35th minute of the match Panos Ntountas shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Gilberto Arias showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. Dimitris Koudas kicked well hit freekick during the 39th minute of the match. After a rather tough play, Italia's Bartolo Miro got a free kick in the 42nd minute. 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 Theofilos Touboulis to strike the kick off in the second half. Braulio Nalo kicked well hit freekick during the 56th minute of the match. In the 57th minute, Theofilos Touboulis 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. 58 minutes into the match, Italia's goal looked a bit too open when Theofilos Touboulis came free, but Gilberto Arias reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Anastasios Perakis made an important save on a dangerous shot by Fabian Gipuzkoa in the 60th minute. If Theofilos Touboulis had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 61st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 65th minute, Soulis Partalis 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. Konstantinos Meletiou hit a great freekick 66 minutes into the match. After a rather tough play, Italia's Braulio Nalo got a free kick in the 69th minute. Panos Ntountas was probably a little too eager to shoot when he, in the 70th played minute, shot the ball from way out. The shot was hard, but the ball flew wide of the goal. Gilberto Arias took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Panos Ntountas, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Olympiacos FC were furious when Konstantinos Meletiou was red carded, 77 minutes into the game, but the referee dismissed their protests. In a very dangerous position, a player in Olympiacos FC fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 77th minute. Penalty! With a little luck, Olympiacos FC's Anastasios Perakis got control of the ball when Fabian Gipuzkoa tried to sneak it across the goal line. After 88 played minutes Italia got a freekick which was hit by Sebastian Vistruario. An unexpectedly hard shot by Theofilos Touboulis in the 92nd minute of play forced Italia's goalkeeper Gilberto Arias to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The Olympiacos FC manager could be seen shouting at his players as they walked down the tunnel after the match. He was clearly angry that they had squandered their superior possession, allowing Italia to win.