CONIFA Football World Cup 2018 - Group Stages - Match Day Three

So the third CONIFA Football World Cup continued on Sunday with the final day of the group stages, and with plenty still at stake it proved to be an exciting day of football across a very hot and humid London.  Here is what happened group by group:-

Group A
Barawa 2 Ellan Vannin 0
Host nation Barawa netted a goal in each half to gain qualification to the Quarter Finals as group winners, whilst Ellan Vannin somehow threw away an almost certain passage into the last eight after Cascadia netted six and got the all-important eight goal swing they needed to qualify.  Barawa received a green card early in the second half, this after they went into the break ahead, and then they doubled their lead before another green card was shown, this time to Ellan Vannin, as the hosts grabbed three points to take them through, whilst incredibly after starting the final group games top of the table, Ellan Vannin failed to make the knock out stages.

Tamil Eelam 0 Cascadia 6
Cascadia knew coming into this game they needed a miracle to qualify, needing to win and have an eight goal swing, and also see leaders Ellan Vannin lose.  Well Cascadia took the lead with a penalty earned and converted by Jon Nouble, before they netted again to hold a two goal cushion at the break, still plenty to do still though.   Well they added two more goals to make it interesting before they had Matt Braem is sent off, meaning they would have to find two more goals with a man less.  They weren’t to be denied though, as two more strikes gave them that eight goal swing, and with it an unlikely passage into the Quarter Finals, an incredible end to Group A that’s for sure.

Final Table

Group A                            P            W          D            L             F            A            Pts              GD
Barawa                              3            2            0            1            7            2              6                  5
Cascadia                           3            2            0            1            9            5               6                  4
Ellan Vannin                     3            2            0            1            6            3              6                  3
Tamil Eelam                     3            0            0            3            0            12            0               -12

Group B
Abkhazia 2 Northern Cyprus 2
This was my first taste of CONIFA World Cup Football as I attended Enfield Town’s Queen Elizabeth II Stadium today, and the first game saw holders Abkhazia almost certainly needing to win to progress against Northern Cyprus, who knew they could get away with a draw to progress.  The pressure was all on the holders then, and with a very decent crowd in for this one, the atmosphere was electric.  And after twenty minutes it was Abkhazia who were celebrating when Maskaev turned his marker before hitting a wonderful left-footed drive from the edge of the area into the bottom corner, but with just over ten minutes of the first half remaining Kaya headed in from a free kick to level it up.  Abkhazia then struck a free kick against the bar right at the end of the first half, meaning it ended level, and then with thirteen minutes left Oshan made it 2-1 to Northern Cyprus, pouncing on a loose ball, and it looked grim for the holders, who needed to find two goals from somewhere.  They found another leveller in the first minute of stoppage time when converting a penalty, however the Turk Cypriots held on to Qualify for the Quarters, and it meant the holders failed to qualify for the knock-out stages.  Incredible.

Here are some photos I took of the game:- 

Karpatalya 5 Tibet 1
In the other match in Group B Karpatalya grabbed their expected three points over minnows Tibet to go through as Group winners after the other match finished all square.  Tibet made it too easy for Zsoli Gaidos to put it past the goalkeeper to give Karpatalya the lead, before Takacs Ronald was fouled by Tibet's Tsenang Karma and saw the resulting spot kick converted to double their lead.  And it was three when Zsolt Gaidus passed to Ronald Takacs, who slotted the ball past the helpless Tenzin Samdup, and Karpatalya were three goals to the good at the break and cruising into the Quarter Finals.   Tenzing Yougyal gave Tibet some cheer with a sensational hit from outside the box to make it 3-1, but Alex Svedjuk made it 4-1 before Gaidus slotted past an inattentive Tibetan goalkeeper for number five.  It had been a spirited display by Tibet, but Karpatalya were much the better side, and qualified for the next round.

Final Table

Group B                            P            W          D            L             F            A            Pts              GD
Karpatalya                        3            2            1            0            8            2               7                6
Northern Cyprus             3            1            2            0            6            4               5                2
Abkhazia                           3            1            1            1            5            4              4                 1
Tibet                                  3            0            0            3            2            11            0                -9

Group C
Tuvalu 1 Matabeleland 3 Both these sides knew they could not qualify for the Quarter Finals however they still had positions to play for ahead of the placement games and the first great chance went to Matabeleland but the Tuvaluan keeper made a close-range save, however Matabeleland did then take the lead, only for  Tuvalu to then equalise.  But Matabeleland retook the lead and then had the chance to extend their advantage, but saw a penalty saved meaning it remained just a one goal cushion at the break. Tuvalu went close from a corner after the break before Matabeleland then won another penalty and this time converted through Syabonga to finally seal their first win at the 2018 World Cup.

Padania 3 Szekely Land 1 Both sides knew qualification was already in the bag, however the winners knew they would qualify as group winners, and it was pre-tournament favourites Padania who got right into their stride once again, opening up a three goal cushion at the break, and after Szekely Land failed to convert and penalty kick, they did manage a consolation goal but it’s Padania who go through with the only 100% record in the competition so far, keeping up that favourites tag for sure.

Final Table

Group C                            P            W          D            L             F            A            Pts              GD
Padania                             3            3            0            0            17          2              9                15
Szekely Land                    3            2            0            1            10          3              6                  7
Matabeleland                  3            1            0            2            4            12            3                 -8
Tuvalu                               3            0            0            3            1            15            0               -14

Group D
Western Armenia 4 Kabylia 0
With this group being wide open both sides knew they could still qualify for the Quarter Finals with a win, and with this being my second game of the day I chose to sit in the main stand with it mostly populated by very excitable Kabylian’s.  They were briefly silenced midway through the opening half when Western Armenia got in to fire beyond the keeper into the far corner, but they were dancing for joy, briefly, when Elhadi Boukir got through and slotted home, however the offside flag had gone up, dampening their celebrations.  After my right ear had been deafened by the loudspeaker used by the Kabylians, I left for quieter waters around the rest of the ground at half time which saw the Armenian’s with that slender lead.   I must say the Kabylian fans certainly created a brilliant atmosphere though so well done to them, they certainly enjoyed their day.  Sadly their side couldn’t give them anything to cheer and slipped further behind when Western Armenia shrugged off a defender and as they were being dragged down managed to fire past the keeper.  Western Armenia then added two late goals, the third a free kick which thumped off the post and was converted in the follow up, and then when they got through and fired home emphatically, to add gloss to the scoreline, but they ended up as group winners and Quarter Finalists.

Here are some photos I took during the game:-

Panjab 1 United Koreans In Japan 1
2016 runners up Panjab knew they only needed a draw to qualify for the Quarter Finals although with all sides still in with a chance of progressing they would of wanted to pick up maximum points.  They had a golden chance to take an early lead after flying straight out of the blocks, winning a penalty after a corner, but Gurjit Singh's weak effort was well saved by Woo Dae Shim, as the first half ended goalless.  But after winning a second spot kick in the second half they converted, and despite UKIJ's brilliant late goal, it was not enough to prevent the 2016 finalists from progressing to the knockout stages once again.  It also meant that despite no defeats, UKIJ fail to qualify for the Quarter Finals.

Final Table
Group D                            P            W          D            L             F            A            Pts              GD
Western Armenia           3            2            1            0            5            0               7                 5
Panjab                               3            1            1            1            9            2              4                 7
United Koreans in Japan3            0            3            0            1            1              3                 0
Kabylia                              3            0            1            2            0            12            1                -12

So after all that drama on Sunday, the tournament takes a day’s rest, before they all come back on Tuesday to go again.

Here is Tuesday’s Quarter Final line up:-

Barawa Vs Northern Cyprus (Gander Green Lane, Sutton United FC, 3pm)

Padania Vs Panjab (Larges Lane, Bracknell Town FC, 3pm)

Cascadia Vs Karpatalya (Gander Green Lane, Sutton United FC, 6pm)

Szekely Land Vs Western Armenia (Hayes Lane, Bromley FC, 6pm)

For the teams who didn’t make the Quarter Finals, they have their first round of Placement Games to come, so here are those fixtures, also on Tuesday:-

9-16^th Placement Games Round One - Quarter Finals

Ellan Vannin Vs Tibet (Hayes Lane, Bromley FC, 3pm)

Matabeleland Vs Kabylia (Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield Town FC, 3pm)

Tamil Eelam Vs Abkhazia (Parkside, Aveley FC, 6pm)

Tuvalu Vs United Koreans In Japan (Larges Lane, Bracknell Town FC, 6pm)

So that completes the next stage of the tournament, enjoy your rest day, and come back nice n fresh for Tuesday’s action.