Russia v Afghanistan
Russia (5) v (3) Afghanistan
Right from kickoff there was disturbance in the game. The first 3 minutes were dominated by fouls from either teams. The russian goalkeeper hade a trip outside the penalty area twice, awarding the Afghans with two penaltyshots. The first one was disallowed, because the shooter stopped the ball before shooting, and the second one missed. After 3 minutes play, the teams finally found their feet and started playing football. The Afghans went well off with a good strike, but shortly after the Russians showed us all a very nice free kick combination, giving the equal score of 1-1.From the on, Russia kept advancing their score, keeping ahead on the scoreboard with good defending and decent attacking. While the Afghans had the will and enthusiasm to get back in the game, they missed the last bit of sharpness. Missing one shot after another either by sloppy finishing or loosing the ball to a defender. Worth to notice were the skills of the Russian goalkeeper. halfway through second half, Afhanistan had three consecutive very powerful strikes, but they were all parried by the Russian keepers safe hands. After that the Afghans seemed to loose their spirits, and Russia could walk it home to a 5-3 victory.
By Mads Trolle Munksgaard