Portugal took the honours but not the title at the latest edition of the beach football ‘Mundialito’ in Praia da Rocha.
An impressive 6-2 thrashing of France on the opening day, which saw Brazil beat Mexico by an identical margin, should have set the stage for the much anticipated championship decider between the sport’s two superpowers.
However, while the Brazilians fulfilled their interim obligation with a 7-2 win against France, Portugal somehow managed to slip to a 5-3 defeat at the feet of Mexico.
That result meant that not only a win was needed against Brazil, but by a five-pgoal margin.
The first objective was achieved, the hosts running out the clear winners, but the 4-2 score line was not sufficient to take the title from the Brazilians.
