Austria defeated England 2-1 on Saturday to win the Homeless World Cup in street soccer.
Austria scored the winning goal with about two minutes remaining, and England failed to capitalise on any of the several chances it had before the end of the math.
Earlier in the day, Austria had defeated Brazil 2-1 in a close semifinal. Brazil, leading throughout, lost on penalty shots after the Austrians scored its first goal with just seconds remaining, bringing the match to a tie.
The other semifinal, pitting the Netherlands against England, was also close. England led 1-0 for most of the match, but the Netherlands scored on a penalty shot with just a few seconds remaining.
England used those few seconds to score its final goal as the Netherlands failed to focus on the play while celebrating what they thought would be a tie.
The United States defeated Slovakia 9-5 for ninth place.
The weeklong street soccer tournament attracted teams from 18 countries, including Italy, South Africa and Poland.
Organised by street papers, the tournament aimed to help homeless people realize their potential, and to improve society’s perception of the group. All players had to be homeless.
Organisers hope the tournament will become a yearly event. – Sapa-AP