U23 World League

Estadio Gastres
Spectators: 7578 (Terracing: 5684, Seating: 1743, VIP seats: 151) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Márcio Linhares started the match with the kick off. Edgardo Javiars short, quick shot in the 3rdth minute got Valentim Palha to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. Albano Flores recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 4th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. After a defensive mix-up in Sport Lisboa e Benfica's zone, Celestino Toro stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Valentim Palha came out of the goal and Celestino Toro tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After 10 minutes, Leonel Vaz mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Sport Lisboa e Benfica and the Gastres FC players grew even worse after the yellow card. A hard shot by Marcelino Haimar from long distance, 11 minutes into the match, got Valentim Palha's attention. Through a fast twist with his body, he could stop the ball from going in on his right side. Valentim Palha made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Celestino Toro in the 13th minute of play. Valentim Palha was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Edgardo Javiar showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 2-0 in the 20 minute of play. Valentim Palha showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Celestino Toro, who was totally free with the ball in the 23rd minute. After 24 played minutes Celestino Toro rounded Sport Lisboa e Benfica's defense and shot a beautiful shot into goal via left pole - 3-0. When the match had gone on for 27 minutes, Edgardo Javiar put it in 4-0 from a short distance just to the right of Valentim Palha. 31 minutes into the match, Sport Lisboa e Benfica's goal looked a bit too open when Edgardo Javiar came free, but Valentim Palha reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 35th minute, Celestino Toro left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Gastres FC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 5-0. Sport Lisboa e Benfica's defense didn't have a chance, in the 44th minute, when Edgardo Javiar scored to the left of an out of position Valentim Palha, making the score, 6-0. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 6-0 at half-time.

The audience was convinced that Celestino Toro's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Valentim Palha was relentless in the 62nd minute of the game. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Celestino Toro in the 68th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Valentim Palha saved Sport Lisboa e Benfica from getting behind. The supporters of Gastres FC booed when Sport Lisboa e Benfica was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 70 match minutes in a wonderful position. Afonso Anjos didn't get a good kick on the ball. Gastres FC's Segundo Bortzaioriz was substituted for Celestino Toro. In the 72nd minute, Afonso Anjos hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 73rd minute, Edgardo Javiar got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. After a rather tough play, Sport Lisboa e Benfica's Estevão Alves got a free kick in the 80th minute. Sport Lisboa e Benfica made a substitution. Fábio Lustosa replaced Dimas França. Estevão Alves hit a great freekick 82 minutes into the match. In the 85th minute, Sport Lisboa e Benfica's Afonso Anjos seemed to kick out at an opponent. The referee saw this and, surprisingly, showed Afonso Anjos the red card, dismissing him from the pitch. The coaching staff of Sport Lisboa e Benfica protested bitterly, but the referee would have none of it, and Afonso Anjos had no choice but to slowly walk off the pitch. After 85 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Sport Lisboa e Benfica! After a long run with the ball, Albano Flores did a trick in the 87th minute in front of Sport Lisboa e Benfica's goalkeeper, who threw himself to the side. After that it was simple to shoot 9-0. An impressive performance by Gastres FC's Albano Flores! After having played for 93 minutes, Cristiano Gentil managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Sport Lisboa e Benfica's supporters crossed their fingers, but Cristiano Gentil was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Edgardo Javiar in the 95th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Valentim Palha saved Sport Lisboa e Benfica from getting behind. Gastres FC's supporters were delighted with their team's performance and swarmed onto the pitch at the end of the match to celebrate the victory with the players.