Goals Galore at CPISRA 7-a-side Football World Championships

The Cerebral Palsy International Sports & Recreation Association (CPISRA) 7-a-side Football World Championships featuring 16 teams kicked off last Friday in the Netherlands and so far there have been goals galore.

After drawing with the Netherlands 1:1 in Friday’s opening game in Group A, Brazil hit 10 unanswered goals as they powered to victory over Australia to move to the top of the group.

The result will have been a shock to Australia who had started their campaign with a 4:2 victory over Spain on Saturday.

It has been a dismal start for Spain who were beaten again on Monday by the Netherlands 5:0 with Lars Conijn scoring two of the goals

In Group B Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games gold medallist’s Ukraine look like the team to beat after opening their campaign with two victories, 10 goals and no goals against.

In their first game on Saturday they thumped Scotland 5:0, before triumphing over Canada with the same score on Monday.

Canada had started their Championships well on Saturday with a 6:0 victory over Finland. It went from bad to worse for Finland on Monday as they were hammered 10:0 by Scotland who bounced back well after their defeat to Ukraine.

The first games in Group C were played on Sunday. Brian Vivot scored five times as Argentina were emphatic 11:0 winners over South Korea. On Tuesday Vivot and his teammates will face a sterner task when they face Beijing 2008 silver medallists Russia who recorded a 3:0 victory over England in their opening game.

Beijing 2008’s bronze medallists, Iran, look set to shine in Group D. In their opening game they beat Ireland 3:1, while USA got the better of Japan, with a 4:0 victory.

The CPISRA Football 7-a-side World Championships are taking place from 17 June to 1 July in the Netherlands.