Paralympics: Argentina Eliminates Brazil in Blind Soccer
Argentine team in Paris, France, Sept. 5, 2024. Photo: X/ @GusTorchia
September 6, 2024 Hour: 8:56 am
The final between France and Argentina will be on Saturday at 8:00 PM.
On Thursday, Argentina pulled off a surprise and, after a 0-0 draw, eliminated Brazil in the semifinals during the penalty shootout, preventing Brazil from winning their sixth consecutive gold in five-a-side football for the blind at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
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Since its introduction into the Paralympic Games program exactly twenty years ago in Athens 2004, Brazil has always reached the top of the podium to claim gold and hear their national anthem.
This time, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, in a facility set up specifically for blind football, Brazil will not achieve its goal. The Brazilian team faced a very tough opponent in Argentina, who held their ground and managed to take the match to penalties, where luck favored the albiceleste with a 4-3 victory.
The Argentine football team, popularly known as “The White-and-Blue Bats” (Los Murcielagos Albicelestes), were crowned world champions in Birmingham (United Kingdom) in 2023.
“Now they dream of becoming Paralympic champions for the first time, something that had been denied to them until now because Brazil dominated all the titles since the sport’s debut in the Athens 2004 program,” France 24 reported.
“In the previous five editions, Argentina won two silver and two bronze medals, only missing the podium once. The two runner-up finishes came after losing the final to their Brazilian neighbors (3-2 in 2004 and 1-0 in 2021),” it added.
The other semifinal, played between Colombia and France, was won by the French team with a goal by Frederic Villeroux in the 26th minute. The bronze medal match between Colombia and Brazil will take place on Saturday at 5:30 PM, and the final between France and Argentina will be at 8:00 PM.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
