Tournament review

Road to the final
Despite two goals from
Ricardinho – including
one astonishing effort
– Portugal were no
match for Spain
Slobodan Rajčević takes aim against Ukraine
QUARTER-FINALS
SERBIA 2-1 UKRAINE
Barely 20 hours after the Arena had emptied, it
refilled to the brim as Serbia fans added weight
to their team’s push against Ukraine in the
first quarter-final. Aca Kovačević, aware that
his players were feeling the rigours of a heavy
schedule, was grateful for their support – and for
the defensive mix-up which drew keeper Yevgen
Ivanyak and two outfielders to the left of their arc
and allowed Mladen Kocić to roll the ball into an
unguarded net after only 1:26. Ukraine, deploying
nimble, skilful players in mainly 1-4-0 attacking
formation (with occasional use of Mykola
Grytsyna as pivot) stretched the hosts to the
limit yet failed to beat the impressive Miodrag
Aksentijević until a kick-in on the right allowed
Grytsyna to find space in the middle and to push
home an equaliser from close range after 3:18
of the second period. Against Ukraine’s fluent
combinations on the flanks and threat-laden set
plays, Serbia’s game was simple in conception
and effective in execution, based on neat switches
of play to the flanks. One of them, with many
minds already focused on extra time, allowed
Marko Perić to swing a ball in from the left and
Miloš Simić to hook the waist-high delivery into
the net. The clock showed that 0.3 seconds
remained. Game over.
PORTUGAL 2-6 SPAIN
Spain and Portugal took the field with the
task of following that. The former displayed
consummate teamwork: well-organised
defending; compact, well-synchronised lines;
attacks underpinned by two short-passing
options; constant off-the-ball movement and
good finishing. The latter moved the ball fluently
(often artistically), pressed the ball carrier
enthusiastically and relied on Ricardinho to
produce moments of magic. He did. One of
them was enough of a masterpiece to raise the
crowd to its feet and put it firmly behind Jorge
Braz’s team. The harsh reality, however, was
that his two goals served only to cut deficits to
3-1 and 4-2, with hopes of a comeback swiftly
undermined by defensive lapses. Despite their
artistry, Portugal were beaten 6-2.
RUSSIA 6-2 AZERBAIJAN
Russia produced an identical scoreline against
Azerbaijan in a contest marked by good
positional attacking and dangerous, well-drilled
set plays. Russia, warming to the competition,
defended well, dictated the tempo and, as the
game wore on, exploited the ability of pivot Eder
Lima to receive, control, use his one-on-one skills
and finish strongly. Tino Pérez sent on playmaker
Amadeu as flying keeper 12 times in the last 15
minutes but a balance of one goal scored and
two conceded during power play contributed to
the final score of 6-2 in Russia’s favour.
KAZAKHSTAN 5-2 ITALY
The last quarter-final was as dramatic as the
first. With keeper Higuita’s trademark advances
disturbing Italy’s patterns, Kazakhstan took a 2-0
half-time lead thanks to a corner and a scene
of defensive chaos. In a higher-tempo second
half, Roberto Menichelli’s side carved openings
but stymied their revival with uncharacteristic
defensive lapses in key moments. Coming back
to 2-1, they conceded a third within 30 seconds;
coming back to 3-2 with Gabriel Lima as flying
keeper, they let in a fourth in six seconds.
Although Cacau used only eight of his dozen
outfielders, Kazakhstan’s stout, well-drilled
defending – including Higuita and the woodwork
– earned a 5-2 win, with Leo sending the ball the
length of the pitch into the unguarded Italian
net 23 seconds from time to consummate the
surprise. The champions were out.
Chingiz Yesenamanov (left) and Aleksandr Dovgan revel in knocking out the champions
Russia’s Gustavo welcomes victory against Azerbaijan
16 SERBIA 2016 TOURNAMENT REVIEW
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