The 16 men and women’s teams are half-way through the competition in China. They will now play to qualify for the medal matches or to secure the best ranking possible.
Things are heating up at the Shanghai 2024 FISU World University Championship Futsal as we now know the names of the quarter finalists of the men’s tournament and semi-finalists of the women’s competition.
The first women’s semi-final will oppose Brazil and New Zealand, the second one Portugal and China. The host country was thrilled to beat Brazil on the opening day of the championship.
China’s goalkeeper, Danping Liu said: “This is a good chance to meet teams worldwide, and we cherish this opportunity. This time, we compete with the best teams from all over the world in China, our country, and we will do our best in the coming games.” They certainly did as she promised, reaching the semi-finals.
But China will face extremely motivated opponents with Portugal, whose games are transmitted live on television in their home country.
Portugal’s captain, Carolina Pedreira showed her enthusiasm, but remained cautious: “we want to be the champion, but we still need to work a lot of things to make it come true.”
A few pictures of the group pases
A first for Croatia
The men’s quarter-finals will see France facing Czechia, Portugal against the surprising Croatians, who surprised most by beating New Zealand 7-4, Brazil will play Saudi Arabia and finally Ukraine will face Morocco. This is the first time ever that Croatia reach a FISU World Championship Futsal’s quarter final.
Croatia’s captain, Ante Piplica, was eager to carry on the good work. “We want to play a good game against Portugal and show everyone that we can face the best teams here!”
Brazil’s Captain, Miguel Kenji is amongst one of the most popular student-athletes taking part in the competition. He is a true Instagram influencer and is having a great time in Shanghai:
“China is amazing! The people here are really welcoming, they are really funny. We are enjoying ourselves a lot here: the atmosphere is really fantastic.” And regarding the competition, Miguel Kenji made just one comment: “We are Brazil, and we are ready for any team!”
The programme of the last two days
Friday 14 and Saturday 15 June
Sunday 16 June
Don’t miss any of the games, as they are streamed live on FISU.tv.
Written by Thérèse Courvoisier
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