CONIFA Football World Cup 2018 - Final/Placement Games - Match Day Six

So the third CONIFA Football World Cup came to a conclusion on Saturday so here is what happened as the 2018 champions were crowned.  The day began with the 12pm kick offs, as places 11^th to 16^th were played for, here are those early games:-

11th/12th Place Play Off
Tibet 1 United Koreans In Japan 1 (United Koreans In Japan won 4-1 on penalties)
United Koreans In Japan claimed 11^th place in the 2018 World Cup after they squeezed past Tibet on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Fisher FC.  Tibet made an early save before they took a shock lead themselves, and then saw some last-ditch defending by Donden deny UKIJ an equaliser after a goalkeeping mistake left an empty net.  It did mean the Tibet side held a slender lead at the break, however UKIJ did find a second half leveller to take the tie to penalties, which saw the Koreans triumph, meaning Tibet end the competition in 12^th.

13th/14th Place Play Off
Tamil Eelam 0 Matabeleland 1

Matabeleland ended the tournament on a high after they won their final game to grab 13^th place in the competition after a second half goal was enough to defeat Tamil Eelam, who end the tournament 14^th.

15th/16th Place Play Off
Tuvalu P-P Ellan Vannin  Tuvalu awarded tie after Ellan Vannin pulled out of tournament, Tuvalu defeated Chagos Islands 6-1 in a friendly at Bedfont Recreation Ground, Bedfont Sports FC, and ended the tournament in 15^th spot.

And then it was onto the afternoon games, where 3^rd to 10^th place was confirmed, so here is how those games panned out:-

3rd/4th Place Play Off
Padania 0 Szekely Land 0 (Padania won 5-4 on penalties)

Pre-tournament favourites Padania ended the tournament with a bronze medal position after they won a dramatic penalty shoot out at Enfield following a rather poor goalless draw.  In a game where chances were few and far between, a dramatic shootout ended in sudden death when a brilliant final save from the Padania goalkeeper handed them the win, meaning the Hungarians ended the competition in fourth place.

5th/6th Place Play Off
Panjab 3 Cascadia 3 (Panjab won 4-3 on penalties)

Panjab managed to claim 5^th place after they defeated Cascadia on penalties, this after they had thrown away a three goal lead.  A great shot by Rajpal Virk put the Panjab side ahead, and they added two more as they threatened to run away with the contest, but Cascadia grabbed one back before half time to threaten an unlikely comeback, but the comeback looked well and truly on when they made it 2-3 through Calum Ferguson, and it was Ferguson again who netted to bring Cascadia level, forcing penalties, however Panjab managed to regroup and win the shootout, meaning Cascadia have to settle for 6^th place.

7th/8th Place Play Off
Barawa 0 Western Armenia 7

Western Armenia hit seven in their final game as they put Barawa to the sword to end their campaign in 7^th place.  Armenia had a three-goal lead at the break and they continued their charge in the second period, adding four more goals in the second period to romp home.  Hosts Barawa, who seemed to fall apart after their group games and the Ellan Vannin appeal and fiasco afterwards, finish the tournament in 8^th.

9th/10th Place Play Off
Kabylia 0 Abkhazia 2

Holders Abkhazia ended the 2018 tournament in 9^th place after they saw off Kabylia.  A goal in each half was enough for the Georgians to take the win and end their disappointing defence of their crown with a win.  Kabylia end the competition in 10^th place.

And so it was into the finale, the grand final, where Turk Cypriots Northern Cyprus took on Hungarian’s Karpatalya at a packed out Queen Elizabeth II Stadium.  Their group game had ended all square earlier in the tournament, so what would happen in this one:-

Grand Final
Northern Cyprus 0 Karpatalya 0 (Karpatalya won 3-2 on penalties)

Hungarian’s Karpatalya are 2018 Champions after they won on penalties to defeat Northern Cyprus in Saturday’s final at Enfield Town.  The first heavy challenge came in from the Turk’s, leaving a Karpatalya man on the floor, giving them a free kick in a good position, which ended up coming to nothing, and the Hungarian side also won the first corner of the contest, which also came to nothing.  Karpatalya then flashed a header wide in the games first real attack, and their defence were also holding up well against any Northern Cyprus attacks.  Istvan then went close from distance, however it was a tense affair at Enfield, and the first half ended goalless.  Northern Cyprus almost took the lead through a header, which was saved by the keeper, and then the Hungarian’s saw a long range effort saved by the Northern Cyprus keeper in what was end to end stuff.  There had certainly been plenty of intent, however there were still no goals to show for it, and the next real chance saw the Northern Cyprus players in disbelief that a close-range header didn’t go in.  Then as the rain came down Karpatalya found themselves under a sustained period of pressure, and another chance saw the ball go just the wrong side of the post, and it meant the final would end in a penalty shoot out.  And in a dramatic penalty shoot-out, Karapatalya held their nerve to become the 2018 CONIFA Football World Cup champions, meaning Northern Cyprus would have to settle for runners up.

Here is the winning team holding the trophy aloft, thanks to Con Chronis/CONIFA for the image:-

And here are more photos of the final, courtesy of @CONIFAOfficial:-

So that is that, after the closing ceremony, which followed the final, ended, it brought the curtain down on what has been a largely fantastic 2018 Football World Cup, will we see another one on these shores again?? Who knows…..but it has been a blast so thankyou, and well done to Karpatalya, world champions for 2018.