It was the 4-1 victory against the Italian national team that ensured the Portuguese team first place in group A – group of the elite qualifying round for the Futsal World Cup, which took place at the Municipal Sports Pavilion in Póvoa de Varzim.

The goals were scored by Fábio Cecílio, in the 11th minute, with Bruno Coelho watching. Pany Varela in the 17th minute to make it 2-0 at half-time.

In the second half, Ricardinho scored twice. Portugal knew how to maintain the result and defend as soon as necessary.

The Italian goal of honor was scored by Sergio Romano in the 40th minute.

“Concreteizing what we produced offensively raised confidence levels and allowed us to remain focused on our task. – Jorge Braz, Portugal coach.

Ensuring the presence in the Elite Round as first placed World Cup Lithuania 2020 which will be played by 24 teams, 7 from UEFA, between September 1, 2 and October 4, 2020.

“We also had a very good record against Finland and we were unable to be competent [2-2 draw]. We knew that at this stage, with four or six points, we were going to have to fight to get to the next stage.” – Ricardinho, player of the National Team.

Access to the World Championship will be guaranteed by the first classified and winners of the play-off between the four runners-up of the 4 groups of the Elite Round between the 9th and 12th of April.

In this way, the Portuguese team is looking for its sixth consecutive presence in the Futsal World Cup. The history is 2000 in Guatemala, 2004 in Taiwan, 2008 in Brazil, 2012 in Thailand and 2016 in Colombia.