FIFA Beach W/cup: Senegal’s Mendy claims Bronze ball
Teranga’s lions Raoul Mendy claimed the Bronze ball of the just ended FIFA Beach Soccer World cup in Russia, despite the African reps finishing in the 4th place.
The Lions of Teranga No.9 played a vital role in the African champions’ historic campaign. His brace in the quarter-final against Brazil was one of the standout moments of the tournament for Senegal’s fans.
Mendy’s classy performance against the Brazilians was just a continuation of his group-phase form, where he scored a hat-trick against Uruguay and also impressed in the match with defending champions Portugal.
Despite his immense talent, he went goalless in the semi-final meeting with Japan and the match for third place against Switzerland. Without his normally reliable supply of goals, Senegal had to settle for fourth place.
Most fans hailed performance of Senegal at the championship which saw host Russia emerging champions after beating Japan 5-2 in the finals. In the play-off for third place African Reps Senegal lost 9-7 to Switzerland.
FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG) delivered their verdict, awarding the Golden Ball to Switzerland’s Noel Ott in recognition of his outstanding performances on the Moscow sand.
read also Beach Soccer W/Cup: Senegal, Mozambique fly Africa’s flag
The award for the tournament’s top goalscorer went to Switzerland’s Glenn Hodel, who scored 12 goals, two more than his compatriot Dejan Stankovic and Japan’s Takuya Akaguma. Below is the line up of winners of Golden, Silver and Bronze balls.
Golden Ball: Noel Ott (SUI)
Silver Ball: Artur Paporotnyi (RFU)
Bronze Ball: Raoul Mendy (SEN)