Brazil, China, Spain and Argentina through to semis

At the Football 5-a-side worlds, reigning champions Brazil smash Germany, Argentina keep up their form, whilst Spain and China need penalties to progress. 21 Nov 2014

Back of a football player looking at another blindfolded player who prepares to shoot a penalty

The Spanish football 5-a-side qualifies for the World Championships semi-finals thanks to a penalty shoot-out win over Paraguay

ⒸIBSA

By IPC

“We will have a very tough semi-final ahead and perhaps a final. So everyone has to be ready.”

Brazil, China, Spain and Argentina are through to the semi-finals at the 2014 IBSA Blind Football World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, after winning their respective quarter finals on Friday (21 November).

In the first game of the day, hosts Japan were sent crashing out in the cruellest fashion, losing on penalties to China.

After the group stage finished on 20 November, Spain were level on points with South Korea, and had to do battle in a penalty shootout to see who would progress to the second quarter-final.

It was European champions Spain who emerged victorious, meaning they faced Paraguay. Again, the two sides could not be separated, and for the second time in a day, penalties beckoned for Spain, and again they progressed in the shoot-out.

Three-time Paralympic champions Brazil have been flying so far in this competition, and once again proved their dominance with a 4-0 victory over Germany.

All goals came in the first half, with Jefinho and Ricardinho both bagging a brace, allowing Brazil to bring on their reserve players at half-time.

Brazilian Coach Fabio has urged his players to be focused ahead of their semi-final as they aim for a fourth world title.

"We were fortunate to score a goal early and then close in four to zero in the first half,” he said to the Brazilian Paralympic Committee.

“We will have a very tough semi-final ahead and perhaps a final. So everyone has to be ready.”

The last quarter-final of the day saw two-time world champions Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 to set up a semi-final clash against Spain.

The draw for the semi-finals, which will take place on Sunday (23 November) means that the only previous winners of the World Championships, Brazil and Argentina, have been kept apart and could potentially battle it out once more in the final.

Saturday’s (22 November) action sees those teams eliminated so far battle it out for their final ranking, with Turkey v South Korea, Paraguay v Colombia, France v Morocco and Japan v Germany all taking place.

For more information, visit the 2014 IBSA Blind Football World Championships website.