Sunshine, celebrations and high-quality football on day two at the Sacramento 2023 Homeless World Cup
After the anticipation and excitement of the opening ceremony and day one, the second day of the long-awaited 18th Homeless World Cup tournament opened on another sunny day at Hornet Stadium.
It was an all female start to the day. Pitch 1 saw France take on Finland, while the action on pitch 2 kicked off with Denmark versus Romania and Sweden met Mexico on pitch 3.
Credit: Anita Milas
Gone was the pomp and ceremony of the opening parade as the qualifying stage of the competition continued in earnest, including a particularly thrilling match between the men's USA and Mexico teams, with it going down to the wire and Mexico just edging it with a last minute 4-3 victory over the hosts.
Credit: Anita Milas, Dan Higginson, Donnie Nicholson
As the Californian sun rose higher in the pure blue sky and the temperature rose, people turned to a variety of, in some cases imaginative, headgear to protect against the heat of the day. Teams played with passion and respect, showing great camaraderie on and off the pitch.
One moment of sportsmanship saw a referee bending down to tie the laces of the Norwegian men’s goalkeeper to save him removing his gloves and the first Whistle of Hope of the tournament was awarded to a member of the Greek team.
In amongst the fast and furious play there was still time for some good natured banter as members of the Northern Ireland team were overheard explaining the concept of ‘builders’ tea’ to a bemused international referee, and teams found boundless reserves of energy for celebration songs and dancing. The crowd were spoilt for choice with non-stop action, including 2 penalty shoot outs.
Credit: Donnie Nicholson and Anita Milas
With a total of over 100 games played already, the standings at the close of the second day of play are as follows: in the men’s competition Mexico lead the Group A rankings, with Portugal topping Group B. In Group C Chile are currently on top and Brazil lead Group D. In the women’s competition Chile are undefeated at the top of the standings.
It’s still all to play for in Sacramento, with temperatures due to rise on and off the pitch as we move into day three and the penultimate qualifying day.
Words: Alix Gunn