Brazil will take on Venezuela and the USA will face Canada for a place in the finals of the Lima 2019 Parapan Games on Thursday (29 August) following quarter-final wins in Peru on Wednesday.

Venezuela secured their place with an 18-17 thriller against Mexico at the Miguel Grau Coliseum.

Wilmer Jesus Zambrano was once again the protagonist for Venezuela in the closely fought game, scoring an impressive 14 goals across the match.

With the scores level at 7-7 at half-time after Zambrano had claimed three goals to bring his team equal, Mexico took the lead once again.

Alexis Gonzalez netted his fourth goal of the game but Zambrano was ready to strike again.

He matched his opponents goal-for-goal before Carlos Enrique Linarez gave Venezuela the edge at 13-12.

Zambrano increased their lead to two shortly after but Vicente Trejo kept Mexico in sight.

Zambrano and Gonzalez went toe-to-toe before Zambrano and Linarez increased Venezuela’s lead to three.

Trejo got one back but a final goal from Linarez hit the back of the Mexican net, all but dashing their hopes of victory.

Determined not to give up without a fight, Gonzalez scored a further two times to bring his team to within one goal but it was not enough. The whistle blew and Venezuela celebrated their place in the semi-finals against Brazil.

Brazil overcame hosts Peru 11-1 to guarantee themselves a spot in the next round, and continue their campaign to retain their Parapan Americn Games title.

Alex Sousa found the back of the net six times, including delivering the final blow which handed Brazil a ten goal lead to end the match early.

Canada emerged the victors in a close quarter-final against Argentina, keeping their hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics alive.

Doug Ripley and Blair Nesbitt stepped up to deliver a 2-1 lead at half-time. Argentina nearly delivered an upset with goals coming from Gonzalo Rodriguez and Matias Britez keeping them within touching distance of the Canadians.

However three successive goals from Nesbitt ended Argentina’s hopes with just one goal coming from Hernan Almada in the second half. The final score was 6-3.

Canada will now face a tough game against the USA, who are unbeaten so far in Lima.
The US men secured their spot with four goals apiece from Josh Welborn and Calahan Young in their 12-2 win over Guatemala.

The women’s competition is also heating up as the penultimate day of pool play wrapped-up on Wednesday.

The USA maintained their position as pool leaders, winning their fourth consecutive game this time with a 10-0 win over Costa Rica.

Canada and Brazil are equal on points and goal difference in second and third place with three wins each. But Canada have the advantage with more goals scored overall.

Canada claimed a 14-4 win over Mexico whilst Brazil beat Peru 10-1.

The women’s semi-finals will take place on Friday.

All medal matches will be contested on Saturday (31 August). Full results from Lima can be found at the official website, as well as live coverage of the sports.

Football-5-a-side

Argentina are the group leaders in the blind football competition thanks to another victory on Wednesday.

After a day-off on Tuesday to allow teams to rest, the Argentinians faced Mexico. Maxi Espinillo had to wait until the second half before one of his four shots on goal hit the back of the net to secure his team a 1-0 win.

Elsewhere in the competition defending champions Brazil seemed to have recovered from earlier in the tournament which began with two draws.

The Brazilians overcame Costa Rica 4-0 including a hat-trick from Nonato and one from Gledson.

Colombia just edged Peru 3-2 with all goals coming in the second half.

Peru had more shots on goal than their opponents but Jhon Eider Gonzalez Hernandez proved too much for Peruvian goalkeeper Jose Carlos Bolivar Mejia.

Hernandez opened the scoring in the 25th minute before Peru drew level courtesy of Richard Elio Alza Tapia. Gonzalez gave his team the lead once again two minutes later and extended their buffer to two goals in the 35th minute.

Brayan Jhonatan Bartolo Climaco got one back for Peru but it was not enough and Colombia walked away with victory.

Football-5-a-side continues with the final day of group play on Thursday, to finally determine who will play for medals on Friday (30 August).

Full results from Lima for all sports can be found at the official website, as well as live coverage of the sports.