U.S. BEATS PARAGUAY WILL PLAY TODAY WITH JAPAN FOR POSSIBLE BIRTH INTO SECOND ROUND

23.11.04

Pat White gave the USA (1-1-0, 3 Points) a 1:0 lead over Paraguay (1-1-0, 3 Points) with a goal in the opening eight minutes of the match. Lee Tschantret increased the stars & stripes advantage to 2:0 scoring in the 33rd minute of the second half.

Paraguay cut the deficit to 2:1 with goal by Carlos Alberto Villalba in the 37th minute-mark, but Johnny Torres scored the USA’s third tally with two minutes remaining for the 3:1 final score.

The stars & stripes’ captain Sean Bowers earned his 31st appearance with the Futsal team (vs. Paraguay) and now is the all-time leader in that category since the inception of the program in 1984.

The USA’s win over Paraguay also ended a seven-game losing streak for CONCACAF teams at the FIFA Futsal World Championships. The last victory by a CONCACAF squad at the FIFA event was on 21 November 2000, when Guatemala defeated Kazakhstan 6:5 in Ciudad de Guatemala.

In the other Group C encounter at the 2004 FIFA event, Montovaneli scored twice to lead Italy (2-0-0, 6 Points) to a 5:0 win over Japan (0-2-0, 0 Points) in Tao Yuan County, Chinese Taipei.

The 16-team FIFA tournament continues for CONCACAF representatives as Cuba (0-1-0, 0 Points) looks for its first win in Group D as they meet Iran (0-1-0, 0 Points) at the Linkou Gymnasium on Wednesday.

At the conclusion of the FIFA Futsal World Championship First Round on 26 November, the top two teams from each group will progress into the Second Round that will consist of two groups of four teams from 28 November – 1 December.

The top two teams from each of the Second Round Groups will advance to the Semifinals on 3 December. The third-place match and final is scheduled for 5 December.

2004 FIFA FUTSAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Group C
23.11.2004: Tao Yuan County, CHINESE TAIPEI; Linkou Gymnasium (A: 500)
USA – PARAGUAY 3:1 (1:0)
Pat WHITE 8’; Lee TSCHANTRET 33’; Johnny TORRES 38’ – Carlos Alberto VILLALBA 37’
USA: Brett Phillips – Sean Bowers, John Ball, Johnny Torres, Todd Dusosky.
Subs: Andy Gustaferro, Lee Tschantret, Jamar Beasley, Pat White, Greg Howes, Pat Morris. Booked: none
TD: Keith TOZER
PAR: Marcos Miranda – Fabio Alcaraz, Carlos Chilavert, Walter Villalba, Rene Villalba.
Subs: Gabriel Ayala, Hebert Gimenez, Sergio Araujo, Carlos Alberto Villalba, José Rotella, Alberto Benitez. Booked: C. Villalba 13’
TD: Adolfo RUIZ
R: Juan Carlos SCIANCALEPORE (ARG)
R2: Ching Hau SHEEN (TPE)

25.11.2004: Taipei City, CHINESE TAIPEI; National Taiwan University New Gymnasium (20:00)
USA – JAPAN

Group D
24.11.2004: Tao Yuan County, CHINESE TAIPEI; Linkou Gymnasium (18:00)
IRAN – CUBA

26.11.2004: Taipei City, CHINESE TAIPEI; National Taiwan University New Gymnasium (18:00)
PORTUGAL – CUBA

Article by: Steve Torres - CONCACAF

U.S. Futsal World Championship Schedule - Group Play