Brazil, in yellow, were too strong for UAE in their opening match of the Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup in Dubai. Courtesy www.beachsoccer.com
Brazil, in yellow, were too strong for UAE in their opening match of the Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup in Dubai. Courtesy www.beachsoccer.com

‘This is one day we need to make sure we forget forever’: UAE hammered 11-1 by Brazil at Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup



DUBAI // UAE manager Gustavo Henrique has urged his players to forget their 11-1 drubbing at the hands of South American champions Brazil in their opening match at the Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup and focus on the two must-win battles ahead.

The 10-goal defeat is the worst in the history of the Intercontinental Cup – the previous worst was the 10-3 hammering of the USA by Brazil in 2014 – but Henrique insists the margin of defeat will matter little if the UAE turn things around and win their next two matches, against Tahiti and Poland, and qualify for the semi-finals.

“If we win the next two matches, 1-0 and 10-0 will be the same,” said Henrique. “In the first match, we are always like this. But we still have two matches to play. We need to keep our chin up and think about the next game. This is one day we need to make sure we forget forever.”

Rodrigo Soares put the Brazilians ahead in the first period but Ahmed Beshr levelled less than a minute later. Bruno da Silva then restored the lead as Brazil finished the period 2-1 ahead.

The Brazilians then shifted gears in the second period, scoring five goals – two from Diogo Catarino and one each from Luiz Alberto, Fernando Luiz and Mauricio Pereira – to kill the match.

They added four more goals in the third period to complete the rout, with Catarino completing his hat-trick and Soares and Pereira getting their second of the night. Rafael Antonio also got his name on scoresheet.

“They did not want to play,” Henrique said of his players. “Most of the goals we conceded because the players were lazy. They did not fight. I am very disappointed. If you lose to Brazil, it’s OK. That’s part of sport. But if you lose because you do not fight, that’s really disappointing. So that is something the players need to think about.”

The UAE’s next match is against Tahiti, the 2015 World Cup and Intercontinental Cup runners-up, on Wednesday.

Tahiti opened their campaign with a 5-4 win over Poland and manager Angelo Schirinzi was pleased to start off with a victory considering their less than ideal preparation.

“Everybody was engaged in football, so we had no chance to train,” Schirinzi said. “I am a little bit disappointed about this because I believe the federation should help the players more. The team is ranked No7 in the world and they were runners-up at the World Cup, but still they don’t get much help. Still, I am happy for the win.

“Our next match is going to be very difficult. The UAE are a very good team, but we will prepare and try our best to get one more win.”

RESULTS

Group A

• Tahiti 5 Poland 4

• Brazil 11 UAE 1

Group B

• Iran v USA

• Russia v Egypt

Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE

Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport

How to help

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200

Most F1 world titles

7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)

7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)

5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)

4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)

4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)

Spain drain

CONVICTED

Lionel Messi Found guilty in 2016 of of using companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying €4.1m in taxes on income earned from image rights. Sentenced to 21 months in jail and fined more than €2m. But prison sentence has since been replaced by another fine of €252,000.

Javier Mascherano Accepted one-year suspended sentence in January 2016 for tax fraud after found guilty of failing to pay €1.5m in taxes for 2011 and 2012. Unlike Messi he avoided trial by admitting to tax evasion.

Angel di Maria Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain star Angel di Maria was fined and given a 16-month prison sentence for tax fraud during his time at Real Madrid. But he is unlikely to go to prison as is normal in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying sentence of less than two years.

 

SUSPECTED

Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid's star striker, accused of evading €14.7m in taxes, appears in court on Monday. Portuguese star faces four charges of fraud through offshore companies.

Jose Mourinho Manchester United manager accused of evading €3.3m in tax in 2011 and 2012, during time in charge at Real Madrid. But Gestifute, which represents him, says he has already settled matter with Spanish tax authorities.

Samuel Eto'o In November 2016, Spanish prosecutors sought jail sentence of 10 years and fines totalling €18m for Cameroonian, accused of failing to pay €3.9m in taxes during time at Barcelona from 2004 to 2009.

Radamel Falcao Colombian striker Falcao suspected of failing to correctly declare €7.4m of income earned from image rights between 2012 and 2013 while at Atletico Madrid. He has since paid €8.2m to Spanish tax authorities, a sum that includes interest on the original amount.

Jorge Mendes Portuguese super-agent put under official investigation last month by Spanish court investigating alleged tax evasion by Falcao, a client of his. He defended himself, telling closed-door hearing he "never" advised players in tax matters.


Middle East Today

The must read newsletter for the region

      By signing up, I agree to The National's privacy policy
      Middle East Today