Nations Cup: Portugal in the final after beating Italy on penalties – Hockey

The team faces Argentina in the final on Sunday

Today, Saturday, the Portuguese hockey team qualified for the final of the African Cup of Nations, in Montreux, Switzerland, by defeating Italy 3-2 on penalties, after the match ended in a goalless draw.

After a semi-final match in which neither team was able to score, in normal time or extra time, Joao Rodriguez and Gonzalo Alves twice gave Portugal the advantage in the “lottery”, but Alessandro Verona and Davide Panini canceled them out.

With the 11th shot, Gonçalo Alves scored again, unlike Alessandro Verona, in the 12th, and thus the “Quinas” formation formed a meeting in the final with Argentina, while Italy will compete for the “bronze” with France.

FPP reported that Gonçalo Alves “went into shock during the match” and that “he was immediately assisted and then made available, in cooperation with the technical staff and the medical department, to make an important contribution to the team's success.”

In the first semi-final match, Argentina defeated France 6-4, in a match that was never at a disadvantage, and in the first half it tied with one goal.

Facundo Navarro (14 minutes), Lucas Ordonez (28 minutes from a direct free kick and 45 minutes from a direct free kick) and Gonzalo Romero “Nolito” (31 minutes from a penalty kick and 38 minutes from a direct free kick and 50 minutes from a direct free kick) scored the goals for Albi Celestes. , world title holders.

The Galal national team, which won the group stage over Portugal 6-5, scored against Bruno Di Benedetto (11 minutes, from a direct free kick), Roberto Di Benedetto (32, 49), and Remy Hermann (39, from a penalty kick).

In the classification matches, from fifth to eighth place, Spain defeated its host Montreux 7-1, while Angola defeated Switzerland 3-2, with goals from Andre Centeno, Afonso Souza and Rafael Lourenco.

In this way, the Angolans will compete for fifth place against the Spaniards, while the home team and the host team will face off in the fight for the last place.

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