NEWS

apan suffered a 12-1 defeat at the hands of hosts Brazil in the opening match of the FIFA Futsal World Cup on Tuesday at Gimnasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia.

Brazil took an early 2-0 lead with goals by Lenisio and Marquinho in the third and fourth minutes. Lenisio, Falcao, Ari and Schmacher each scored twice for Brazil.
Japan, who lost key player Daisuke Ono to an injury early in the game, were forced to change their plans, but managed to reply in the 15th minute when debutant Nobuya  Osodo stole the ball from an opponent and scored on an individual breakaway.
Boosted by the goal, Japan rediscovered their game and started to attack more, but they were still 3-1 down at halftime.
Three minutes after the break, Brazil widened the lead to 4-1 through Wilde and went on to accelerate their attack, banging in eight more goals.
Japan field player Kenichiro Kogure of Spanish club Guadalajara commented, “There’s no other strong side like Brazil. We’ll just have to clear our minds and reset our focus on the remaining games.”
In the other Group A game, Cuba romped over tournament newcomers the Solomon Islands 10-2. Russia, the fifth team in the group, had no game.
Japan will next play the Solomon Islands on October 4 and Cuba on October 6 – in Brasilia – before playing Russia on October 8 in Rio de Janeiro.
The top two finishers from the group can advance to the second round, slated for October 11-14.
The top two finishers from the second-round groups will move on to the semifinals on October 16. The third-place match will take place on October 18 and the final will be held on October 19.