Yesterday in Catania, Nikolai Kostenko's protégés defeated Azerbaijan (5:4) and secured their place in the quarter-finals. Today they faced Switzerland, against whom the first spot in Group C was decided.

The first period saw even competition. The teams exchanged shots on goal, with Noel Ott scoring the only goal to put the Swiss ahead.

At the start of the second 12-minute period, Elliot doubled his team's lead, and just a minute later Igor Borsuk scored an own goal. Near the end of the period, Dejan Stanek intercepted the ball and made it 4-0. On the 23rd minute, the Swiss goalkeeper was penalized with a red card and a penalty for rough play. Unfortunately, Oleg Zborovskiy failed to score against the second goalkeeper. At the last seconds of the game, Stanek scored another goal, taking advantage of Ukraine's substitution of a field player for their goalie.

In the third period, finally, the Ukrainian team broke through. Yaroslav Zavorotnyi managed to break the deadlock, and Oleksandr Korniychuk scored the second goal. However, Sandro Spakka immediately extinguished any hope for our team—6-2. Near the end of the match, Ott and Korniychuk exchanged goals—7-3.

Thus, Switzerland advanced to the quarter-finals from Group C in first place, while Ukraine followed in second place. The opponent for the blue-and-yellow team at this stage will be Italy. The game is scheduled for Friday, September 1 (6:30 PM).

2023 World Beach Games. Men's Qualification. Group C

Switzerland — Ukraine — 7:3

Goals: Ott (12, 34), Elliot (13), I. Borsuk (14, own goal), Stanek (23, 24), Spakka (28) — Zavorotnyi (26), Korniychuk (28, 35).

Ukraine: Nerush, Kovalevko, I. Borsuk, A. Borsuk, Korniychuk, Glutsyk, Voytuk, Shcheritsya, Medvid', Voytenko, Zavorotnyi, Pashko, Levchenko, Zborovskiy.

On the 23rd minute sent off Elliot (Switzerland).

August 29. Switzerland — Azerbaijan — 7:4

August 30. Ukraine — Azerbaijan — 5:4

August 31. Switzerland — Ukraine — 7:3

Final Standings

As a reminder, the top five teams of the tournament will qualify for the World Beach Games. In total, 13 national teams participated in the competition, divided into four groups.