Russia produce come-back against Japan
Russia came back from 1-0 down against Japan at half-time to secure their first three points of the 2018 International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) Football World Championships on Friday (10 August).
Kai Sato scored the opener for Japan just eight minutes in but after the first whistle Russia found some form.
Andrey Alexeev equalised with just under 30 minutes left on the clock. A tense period followed with chances from both sides. But it was Russia who managed to find the back of the net in the dying stages of the game. Beglar Galustian was the hero in the 88th minute to give his team a 2-1 win.
Despite their performance Russia will not advance to the semi-finals. Alongside Japan in group B they will play for honours whilst Saudi Arabia and Poland make it through.
A clash between the group leaders was the second game of the day.
Saudi Arabia were the team with most chances throughout the 90 minutes of high energy play. Saudi Arabia top the group on goal difference.
However neither team found the back of the net and it ended 0-0.
About the 2018 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Football World Championships
Teams will play in two groups of four ahead of the semi-finals on 16 August and final on 18 August.
Group A features Sweden, France, Germany and Argentina. Saudi Arabia, Poland, Japan and Russia are in group B. All teams in group A will be awarded a 3-0 scoreline for fixtures against South Africa after their late withdrawal.
Games are being shown live at the World Intellectual Impairment Sport YouTube channel. Information about groups, the schedule and results are available at https://iwfc.se/.
Photographs will be available on request from lucy.dominy@inas.org.
