Saudi Arabia become four time football world champions
Saudi Arabia bagged their fourth International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) Football World Championships crown in Karlstad, Sweden, on Saturday (18 August).
The defending champions swept aside Argentina 2-0, with both goals coming from captain Abdullah Al Dosari.
Aldosari opened the scoring mid-way through the first half with a stunning free kick from just outside the 18-yard box.
Argentina had their chances too, but the first whistle blew with the score at 1-0.
Saudi Arabia then had to hold on until deep into the second half. Al Dosari struck again in the 81st minute from another free kick, close to the same position as his first goal to secure his country’s win.
Speaking after the game Al Dosari said: “It is a great feeling to win the fourth world title and it feels fantastic. I cannot describe the feelings, I am really happy.
“It’s not only about me, it’s about the team. We have 11 players and we are a good team, we have a good strategy. It’s not only about me, everyone takes his responsibility.”
Poland v France – bronze medal game
Three goals came for Poland in the first half of their 4-1 win over France for third place.
Two players – Lukasz Mludzikowski and Piotr Krawczyk – starred for Poland with two goals each.
Krawczyk got his team on the board in the 12th minute, adding one more just over 10 minutes later.
Mludzikowski opened his account just before half time from a corner, scoring again in the 63rd minute.
France regained some ground courtesy of Marcel Atanso with five minutes left on the clock, but it was not enough to unsettle Poland.
In the other placement games, Russia beat Japan 5-3 to claim fifth place. Hosts Sweden finished in 7th after their 4-1 win over Germany.
About the 2018 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Football World Championships
The 2018 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Football World Championships have seen eight countries play for the title – Sweden, France, Germany and Argentina. Saudi Arabia, Poland, Japan and Russia.
Games were shown live at the World Intellectual Impairment Sport YouTube channel. Full results are available at https://iwfc.se/.
Photographs are available on request from lucy.dominy@inas.org.
