Day 4 of the 2023 IBSA World Games at the Campus of the University of Birmingham, for now only with the football in action, is Blind and Partially Sighted, one of the seven IBSA sports in the biggest competition in the world for blind and visually impaired athletes.

The day started with the two women’s matches, with the Swedish team managing to get their place in the semi-finals after the tie against England, with whom the Nordic squad was disputing qualification for the next stage of this first edition of the World Championship for women.

The null in the final score benefited Sweden because of the goal difference, which was reason enough for the yellow team to celebrate like it was a victory. The image that supports this report shows both teams, at the end of the match, celebrating the fantastic fair play, which must be taken as an example of the beauty of the sport.

In the men’s competition, focus on the match between China and Germany. The two goals in the Chinese victory were tremendous, almost an anthem for blind football. Zhang Jiabin, player number 6 from China, with one minute left for halftime, got the ball in midfield, cutting the chance for a German strike, drew the first opponent, and between two defenders, shot with the right foot directly into the net. Excelent individual work!

On the second half, with less than two minutes for the final whistle, Zhu Ruiming kept the pressure on the German player next to the left side, with his back to the goal, took them out of his way, crossed the pitch to the right, dragged the two other defenders left to pass through, and very close to the limit of the line, kicked in an incredible angle, scoring the last goal of the final result.

Partially Sighted
At the Walsall Campus in the University of Wolverhampton, Partially Sighted Football brought a victory to England national team, which defeated France by 4-1.

Ukraine continues its path towards a serious candidature for gold with a new victory, this time against a strong Turkiye.

Check out the results of the day and the matches for this Friday, the day for the opening ceremony and to officially open the games, which will gather one thousand athletes from more than 50 countries in 10 sports. With coaches and staff, there will be almost 2,000 people involved.

Thursday, August 17th
Women’s WC
Japan vs Morocco: 4-0
England vs Sweden: 0-0
Men’s WC
Thailand vs Japan: 0-1
Turkiye vs Italy: 1-2
Argentina vs England: 0-0
China vs Germany: 2-0
Partially Sighted Football
Italy vs Spain: 1-4
Ukraine vs Turkiye: 3-0
France vs England: 1-4

Friday, August 18th (CEST, local time -1)
Women’s WC
9.30am – India vs Germany
11.30am – Austria vs Argentina
Men’s WC
1.30pm – France vs Colombia
5.30pm – Mexico vs Iran
7.30pm – Morocco vs Brazil

As usual, all matches can be followed on the IBSA YouTube channel.

Photo: Richard Hall/IBSA