Brazil does it again on the sand.
Bruno and Sidney scored two goals each on Sunday to lead Brazil to a 5-3 win over Italy in the final of the Beach Soccer World Cup in Marseille, France.
It was Brazil’s third straight title in the tournament, while Italy had never advanced past the first round. “We have achieved our goal,” Brazil forward Benjamin said. “We still want to do more and prove to the entire world that we are the best. I think that we can be proud of ourselves.”
The Brazilians jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first 30 minutes before Italy mustered a rally. Bruno opened the scoring in the ninth minute, chesting down a pass from Buru before spinning around to score with a volley. He then made it 2-0 in the 15th with a drive into the top left corner.
Sidney dribbled past goalkeeper Stefano Spada to send the ball into the empty net in the 22nd for a 3-0 lead before heading in his second goal in the 24th. Andre then flicked in a pass from Duda in the 29th.
Italy responded with three goals in five minutes — from Paolo Palmacci, Roberto Pasquali, and Diego Maradona Jr. — but it was too late to threaten Brazil’s lead.
“Our initial aim was to reach the quarter-finals,” Italy forward Massimiliano Esposito said. “So we’re pleased to have exceeded our expectations by such a distance. It’s a huge performance.”
In the match for third place, Madjer scored a hat trick to lead Portugal to a 5-4 victory over Spain. Bilro and Torres also scored for Portugal, while Amarelle had three goals for Spain, with Nico adding the fourth.
Amarelle earned the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player. Madjer received the Golden Shoe as the top scorer with 13 goals.