Idman.biz
The Minifootball World Championship continues in Baku.
Idman.biz reports that the first day of the 1/8 final stage was marked by the victory of the Azerbaijani national team over Romania.
Our team won the penalty shootout after the match ended with a score of 1:1. Thus, they said goodbye to the title of champion of the World Cup 2023. But the phrase "The King is dead" has become traditional for minifootball world championships.
So far, no world champion has seen the semi-finals in the next competition. The foundation of the tradition laid in Baku was laid long ago.
The fate of the champion at home
The USA hosted the first mundial in 2015. North Americans enjoyed the joy of championship on their home field. The team, longing for success in football, realized its dream in minifootball. Two years later, they were stopped in the 1/8 finals. Mexico managed to say "The King is dead" - 4:3. The "Aztecs" eventually won a silver medal after tripping the champion.
Mexicans again
Mexico, which stopped the champion USA in Tunisia, lost to the Czech Republic in the final. Two years later, the European representative, who went to Australia to defend his title, managed to cross the 1/8 final. But in the 1/4 final, they faced a familiar opponent. Mexico, whom they defeated in the final two years ago, stopped the champion at that time! North Americans cut off the champion's path in the second consecutive mundial - 2:1. Again, the team that beat the title holder advanced to the final. But this time Mexico itself became the champion.
The enemy of the champion's enemy
The coronavirus pandemic did not bypass minifootball, like all sports. The 4th World Championship was held not in 2021, but in 2023. Mexico was the team that went to the UAE to defend its title. The same Mexico that has become the enemy of previous champions. The fate of the "Aztecs" was no different. They also lost in the 1/8 finals. Kazakhstan made the "The King is dead" official in the penalty shootout - 0:0, p. 2:1. The owner of the sensation advanced to the final and managed to do this by defeating the Azerbaijani national team in the semi-final. But Kazakhstan lost to Romania in the decisive match in an endless penalty shootout - 2:2, p.11:12.
The final waiting for our national team
The continents of Africa, Australia, and Asia had witnessed the champion losing his title in the mundials that started from North America. The same scenario happened in the world championship that came to Europe for the first time. Romania lost to our national team in the 1/8 final. For the first time, the champion was stopped by the host.
It should be noted that our team will face England in the 1/4 final.
Vugar Khayrullayev
Idman.biz
