On match day 5 at the IBSA Blind Football European Championships in Rome, Italy, Turkey and France posted wins against Romania and Greece respectively to secure slots in today’s semi-finals.

France defeated Greece 5-1 in yesterday’s first game to go top of Group B. Winning just 1-0 at half-time, the French team suffered an upset at the beginning of the second half when Greece scored its first game of the championships. The French outfit recovered to take control of the match and scored four to finish the group on 8 points and in first place on goal difference.

Caption: Greece and France line up before their game yesterday (© FISPIC).

Turkey had more problems overcoming Romania in the second game and only managed to win 1-0 thanks to an early second-half strike by Mercan. The Turks concluded the group stage in second place on 8 points, 2 points behind group winners Spain.

Belgium and Italy then met in the final Group A match with third place at stake. The Belgians took the lead through Wespes in the ninth minute, but Cavallotto delighted the home crowd by equalising in the 14th minute of the second half. The 1-1 draw was enough to secure third place for the hosts.

Italy will face Russia for fifth place on Monday after a 1-1 draw against Germany in yesterday’s closing match. Fangmann gave the Germans the lead in the first half, but a fine goal by Kuklin in the 8th minute of the second half drew the teams equal.

Results match day 5 (click on links to view games)

Greece 1 France 5
Romania 0 Turkey 1
Belgium 1 Italy 1
Germany 1 Russia 1

Schedule match day 6 (Sunday 22nd September)
15:00 Semi-final 1 – Spain vs England
17:30 Semi-final 2 – France vs Turkey

Schedule match day 7 (Monday 23rd September)
11:30 9th-10th place play-off – Romania vs Greece
15:00 7th-8th place play-off – Germany vs Belgium
17:30 5th-6th place play-off – Russia vs Italy

Schedule match day 8 (Tuesday 24th September)
11:30 3rd-4th place play-off
15:00 Final

The top two teams at the IBSA Blind Football European Championships will qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

All games from Rome 2019 are streamed live on the IBSA Blind Football page, FISPIC’s Facebook page and FISPIC’s YouTube channel.
 
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Caption: Italian player number 8 in action against Belgium yesterday (© FISPIC).