Surprise in the 2023 IBSA Blind Football World Grand Prix at the Paralympic Training Centre in São Paulo, Brazil!

Japan won the first semi-final of Day 4 of the competition, relegating three-time winner Argentina to the bronze medal discussion this Saturday. At the end of regular time, the score registered a tie (2-2), so the decision had to be made by penalty shots. The top scorer of the national team of Argentina, Maximiliano Espinillo, missed his shot with a fantastic save by the Japanese goalkeeper, Daisuke Sato. On his turn, Taichi Hirabayashi didn’t miss his chance.

In the second kick, the ‘Albiceleste’ team scored a goal by Nahuel López and tied the score. Emotions got even higher when the samurai captain, Ryo Kawamura, failed his shot. The same fate befell Ezequiel Fernandes, who aimed right into the upper bar of the goal, leaving it all on Masaki Goto’s right foot.

What an incredible moment at the Blind Football Pitch of the Paralympic Training Centre!

Brazil didn’t get the easy way out either in the second semi-final against the European champion. Jardiel put Brazil on top five minutes before halftime, but the truth is that France was hard to beat. Hakim Arezki tied the score two minutes later, but the top scorer of the competition, Nonato, put Brazil ahead a few moments later. What a thrill! The first half closed with a penalty shot by Cássio Reis, leaving the score at 3-1.

In the second half, Brazil extended the score to 4-1, thanks to Maicon, and closed the match.

In the morning, England bested Italy in 7th place with a victory of 1-0, and Thailand won the 5th place match against Chile also in penalty shots (2-0) after 1-1 in regular time.

This means that this Saturday, Japan and Brazil are going for gold, and Argentina and France will fight for the bronze medal.

Don’t miss any of the action live on the IBSA YouTube channel or by clicking on the live button on both our homepages: IBSAsport.org or BlindFootball.sport!

Photo: Tuane Fernandes CBDV/IBSA