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| 2012 Subbuteo World Cup - Quarter Finals |
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| China 5 e.t. 3 Japan |
| Another remarkable tussle for the hosts saw China
come from 2-0 down in the 2nd half to eventual winners after extra time. Japan took the initiative early on,
Shintaro Kitano scoring the first of three goals after 17 minutes and Shinzo Ota extending their lead just
before the break. China came back with a vengeance, willed on by the vocal home crowd, Lee Tang scoring first
and Qi Zhi putting them ahead to ecstatic applause with only 6 minutes left. Japan still had a nasty surprise
in store though, Kitano taking the game into extra time with an equaliser 4 minutes later. Extra time was as
frenzied as the first 90 minutes, played at seemingly breakneck speed despite the heat, and China finally won
out. |
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| Denmark 4 s.d. 3 Germany |
| Denmark took the initiative early on against
Germany, with Kasper Nymann putting them 2-0 ahead by half time. Germany fought hard to come back in the 2nd
half, with Dirk Reinhardt equalising in the 71st minute, but they had two terrific saves by Sepp Tomaschewski
to thank for keeping them in the game. Denmark again took the lead in extra time, and Tomaschewski made
another brilliant save to stop Kasper Jungbloot sealing the game. For the second time this World Cup, sudden
death play commenced and Karlheinz Bonhof scuffed a great opportunity wide. Denmark's formidable attack forced
a corner, and Nymann now teed up Mikkel Berg for the winner. |
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| Holland 4 s.d. 3 Switzerland |
| Another extraordinary game, taken all the way
to sudden death, saw favourites Holland beat determined Swiss opposition. While Holland had the edge, with Frank
de Jong and Dennis Brinkhoff on great form, Jeremy Zwahlen constantly rallied the Swiss and was a towering
presence in the centre of the park. For the first time in the competition, Holland looked rattled and brought
Adil Isoufi on in extra time to steady their midfield. Swiss keeper Alessio Di Zenzo made some important saves,
but in the end was beaten by a De Jong shot cruelly deflected in off the unfortunate Thomas Rietmann.
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| Brazil 3 - 1 Egypt |
| Egypt shocked Brazil with a brilliant goal by
Farouk El-Safti after only 59 seconds, but the Brazilians soon began to dominate despite determined defence
and some dangerous Egyptian attacks. Once again, Tiago Cicero was the lynchpin and he almost equalised with a
shot that ricocheted back off the post, then put another effort wide. The equaliser came from Cesar Felipe,
but defender Abdel El-Gamal was injured challenging him and Egypt were forced to make a substitution. They also
brought on talented young forward Tarek Youssef, who came on and scored against England, but in the 2nd
half Brazil continued to dictate the game. Nelson Hidalgo put a rocker past Tarek Abdel Hafeez and a late goal
by Cristiano Isidoro sealed victory for Brazil. |
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With a few exceptions, all team images are taken from Santiago Table Soccer