It was in front of a packed stadium in Espinho that Portugal made history and beat Tahiti 5-3 on Sunday (July 19), winning the FIFA Beach Football World Cup for the first time.
The historic match got off to a great start for the national team, with 38-year-old star Madjer (pictured) scoring a goal in the first three seconds.
Belchior and Coimbra helped reach a comfortable 3-0 score, but the sensationally surprising Tahiti threatened a comeback by scoring two goals in the match’s second period before Belchior netted another goal to make it 4-2.
In the third and final period, one goal for both sides meant the scoreboard settled at 5-3 for Portugal.
It was the first time the national team won the most important competition of beach football since it was taken over by FIFA in 2005.
Portuguese President Cavaco Silva said: “I want to applaud all the athletes of the national team who represented our country with a high sporting level. Congratulations for your excellent participation in this competition, which excited not only fans of the sport but the Portuguese in general.”
Secretary of State for Sport Emídio Guerreiro also congratulated the team, thanking the fans who supported Portugal as well as Espinho council for helping organise the event.
