Day six at the Homeless World Cup Cardiff 2019

(Photo: Tim Hartley/ Prost Cymru)

In the final day of matches before the knockout stages of the Homeless World Cup the action was really heating up across all three pitches in Cardiff.

Men’s Competition:

Today saw the end of Stage two, with teams now placed to play for one of six trophies during the next and final stage.

In an extremely tight affair in Group A between Mexico & Chile, Chile pulled it back from being 3-1 down within 2 minutes to 4-4 by the final whistle. They would then defeat the holders in a penalty shoot-out to leapfrog Mexico to first place in Group A.

Men’s Group B saw a close affair as in the final minutes of Scotland v France the scores were level at 6-6. However much to the dismay of the Scottish side, France scored a late winner in injury time to keep Scotland at the bottom of Group B.

The top two teams in Group C – Portugal and Egypt – faced off against each other on Thursday afternoon. When it was all said and done the game finished 4-4 and Portugal eventually won 3-2 on penalties.

In the Men’s Group G, India and Northern Ireland battled for the top spot in the group. The game was neck-and-neck throughout and a disallowed goal prevented India from going in front but they would then win on penalties to secure first place in the group.

Host team Wales came fourth in their group thus earning a place to fight for the second level trophy, the Cardiff Cup.

Tomorrow will see teams playing the semi and quarter finals for the following trophies:

– Homeless World Cup (level one): Chile, Bosnia & Herz, Portugal, Russia, Austria, Egypt, South Africa and Mexico

– Cardiff Cup (level two): Bulgaria, Brazil, Poland, Lithuania, France, Costa Rica, Switzerland, and Wales

– Glyndwr Cup (level three): Ireland, Scotland, Zimbabwe, Italy, USA, Norway, Hungary, and Indonesia

– Dragon Cup (level four): Denmark, Ivory Coast, India, Germany, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, South Korea and England

– Llewelyn Cup (level five): Sweden, Czech Rep, Croatia, Cambodia, Belgium, Australia, Hong Kong, and Slovenia

– Beddgelart Cup (level six): Israel, Pakistan, Finland, and Greece

Women’s Competition

In the Women’s competition, two unbeaten teams – Chile and Romania – met in a top of the table clash in Group B. In a back-and-forth affair, Romania came out on top, winning 6-5 and securing their place at the top of the table.

Host team Wales will play tomorrow to gain a place in the semi-final for the second level trophy, the Celtic Cup.

Tomorrow will see teams playing the semi and quarter finals for the following trophies:

– Homeless World Cup (level one): Mexico, Romania, Peru, Chile, Hungary, England, Austria, and India

– Celtic Cup (level 2): Netherlands, USA, Wales, Sweden, Street Football United, Belgium, Norway, and Northern Ireland