Czech Rep v Ghana
Czech Rep (4) v (5) Ghana
The Giant Pechar twins of the Czech Republic side are a formidable challenge for any team and it looked at first as though the 195 cm brothers had intimidated the Ghanaians. The Europeans raced into a 3-0 lead in the first half as the tallest players in the HWC cast a shadow over the skillful Africans. But that talent kept the score in sight as some brilliantly accurate shooting brought the score to 3-2 by half time.
Blue cards for both teams saw some desperate defending as the sides tried to make up for missing men. Then Ghana set up a gripping final minute - first taking the score to 4-4 then 5-4 with some trademark pass-and-move football allied to deadly accurate shooting; their patient build up play was crucial and it was no surprise that simple passing was the best route through the man mountains of the Czech Republic.
Joel Dimmock