MEDIA RELEASE
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS ARGENTINA REACH KL WORLD 5’s FINAL
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| Argentina Luis Gonzalez (No.11) - Thailand Nattaphon Suttiroj (No.3) |
The defending champions were always the favourite to beat the Thais. Nevertheless, the Asean champion did not make it easy for them.
Their spirit was given a tremendous lift after their victory over the Asian champion Iran on Friday night and similarly against the Argentineans, the Thais never backed down.
They wanted to win and the band of travelling supporters kept willing them on too.
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| Thailand Nattaphon Suttiroj (No.3) - Thailand Ekkaphan Suratsawang (No.11) - Argentina captain Jose Luis Godoy |
The Argentineans pulled ahead again in the 12th min via Pablos Basile, and then the Thais saw their skipper Panuwat Janta shown the red card, which became the turning point of the game.
The numerical disadvantage allowed the Argentineans to pull further ahead with skipper Josoy Godoy stretching its lead to 3-1 in the 13th min. It was 4-1 in the 19th min again through the lethal right foot of Godoy and the Thais knew it was all over.
Anucha Munjaren reduced the deficit in the 29th min to give the Thais a glimmer of a hope at 4-2, but the promise of a revival was wiped out when Ignacio Cavigla restored Argentina’s three-goal advantage with their fifth goal of the match in the very next minute.
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| Thailand Ekkaphan Suratsawang (No.11) - Argentina Ignacio Caviglia (No.3) - Adan Gonzalez (N0.11) |
The Thais valiantly scored once more though Anucha at the 39th min, but that would be the final goal of the match to finish the game 5-3, with the Argentineans home and dry for the Cup final.
Said Thai team manager Adisak Benjasriwan: “We played to our maximum ability given the strength of our squad. We had three key players out injured, and against the Argentineans we cannot afford not to have a full team.
“But we can hold our heads high. To lose 5-3 to a world power in Futsal is no shame. The Argentineans are a tough team to beat. They have so much experience and they know when to press us and when to slow down the tempo.
Argentina’s coach Jose Fernanado: “We are in the final and that’s the most important thing. But whether we win the title or not is a different story. I look forward to the final and you will see an Argentinean side which will be under no pressure to win.
“I have decided that the team will go out there and enjoy themselves. Beating Thailand today is a good result for us. They are a strong team and better than many other South American teams I’ve seen.”
The KL World 5’s Cup is broadcast across Asia on STAR Sports. Kindly refer to the schedule of matches below.
FIXTURES and RESULTS (2nd Feb, 2008)
| 12am: Malaysia vs Holland | (5-0) |
| 2pm: Iran vs Indonesia | (13-1) |
| Semifinals | |
| 5pm: Argentina vs Thailand | (5-3) |
| 7pm: Brazil vs Australia |
FIXTURES (3 Feb, 2008)
| Bowl Final: England vs China | (3.00pm) |
| Plate Final: Holland vs Iran | (5.00pm) |
| Bowl Final: Argentina vs winner of Brazil and Australia tie | (7.00pm) |
CURRENT STANDINGS
| Group A | |||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | PTS | |
| ARGENTINA | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 5 | 10 |
| AUSTRALIA | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 10 |
| MALAYSIA | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 6 |
| INDONESIA | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 3 |
| ENGLAND | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 31 | 0 |
| Group B | |||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | PTS | |
| BRAZIL | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 12 |
| IRAN | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
| THAILAND | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 3 |
| HOLLAND | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 4 |
| CHINA | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 0 |
About the KL World 5's
The KL World 5's takes place between 29th January and 3rd February 2008 at Stadium Negara, Malaysia's first indoor stadium and a national heritage building. The event will be telecasted to over 310 million viewers across Asia on STAR Sports with over 100 hours of coverage, comprising 30 telecast hours, including 20 hours of live programming - translating into extensive media exposure for Malaysia.
The KL World 5's will have a total purse of US$150,000, and feature 10 teams in this prestigious tournament. The event is expected to draw futsal fans from Malaysia and the region with the pedigree of the international teams such as Brazil, Argentina, Holland and England will join the likes of Asian champion Iran, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and hosts Malaysia in action.
ESPN STAR Sports and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have a rich tradition of partnerships stemming from a multi-year strategic alliance signed in October 2005 to raise participation and interest in sport in Malaysia.
For more information, please visit www.klworld5s.com
About ESPN STAR Sports
ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world's leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia's definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies – Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) – to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay and free-to-air services.
ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier live sports from around the globe 24 hours a day to a cumulative reach of more than 310 million viewers in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports has 17 networks covering 24 countries, each localised to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers. This includes ESPN Asia, ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN Singapore, ESPN Taiwan, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Malaysia, STAR Sports Singapore, STAR Sports Southeast Asia, STAR Sports Taiwan, and STAR Cricket.
On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. ESPN STAR Sports aims to reach consumers at any time, any place and through all new media platforms, both internet and mobile. The multi-lingual, online platforms, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw and footballcrazy.tv interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. Developed for the sports fan that is constantly on the move, mobileESPN and STAR Sports Mobile delivers differentiated mobile content targeted at its various audiences. mobileESPN enables the serious sports fan to follow their favourite sports more closely than ever before with a combination of specially produced video news clips, in-depth news coverage and analysis. STAR Sports Mobile aims to provide interactive and entertaining opportunities to engage with sports, delivering exclusive video excerpts from leading football clubs Arsenal and Liverpool as well as highlights from STAR Sports original programmes covering opinions, instructional tips and the latest online game reviews.
For more information, please contact:
Abdul Rahman (Twenty Four Seven Sdn Bhd)
Tel: 012-6637454
abdulrahman@media247.com.my
Elgen Kua (ESPN STAR Sports)
DID: +65 6216 6034
kuae@espnstar.com