Scotland Defeat Mexico to Win Homeless World Cup in Paris
It would take too long and be too boring to talk about the recent transfers that have taken place over the last month, especially the final day that saw almost £500 million of player exchanges taking place in England alone. Instead we look back at the Homeless World Cup final that took place in Paris on Sunday.
Scotland had won this competition previously in 2007 and Mexico were making their first final appearance, so it appeared at first glance that the odds were in the Scottish sides favour at the Stade de Liberte.
Going into the competition as 9th seeds, the Scots managed to reach the final after defeating Kenya 5-3 in the semis; Mexico for their part, saw them defeat Brazil 5-1, which set up an exciting final that was widely welcomed by the noisy and colourful fans.
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As well as beating Kenya in the semis, Scotland had inflicted a 7-0 defeat upon Romania, beat Germany 15-2 and had to fight hard to get beyond Poland 9-8 to set up this final match against the Mexicans.
The event brings together players from a range of social projects across the world-including Street Soccer Scotland, and the initiative uses football to reach out and help people from some of Scotland's most disadvantaged communities.
It was an interesting game that ended with seven goals and it was the Scots that drew first blood with a fine William Hamilton goal to start off the goalscoring antics of the afternoon, but the Mexicans struck back with a low drive from Morales Montiel to equalize the score at 1-1.
William Lawrence was to be in inspiring form and a brilliant double save kept the scoreline equal and despite the Mexican pressure in the match at this point of the game, it was the Scottish side that were to break up field when a deflected shot from Sean Lawrence put his side back in the lead again.
However as the half drew to a close, El Tri drew level once again with a Juan Jose Torres Mendoza low shot as the match started to become a stalemate in midfield.
As the second half began, Scotland started to force themselves into pole position in the match. But were nearly caught on the counter with a tremendous volley from the Mexican side, that cracked the underside of the crossbar and only an alert Will Lawrence in goals kept the score 2-2 with an almost 'Peter the Cat' like save low to his right.
However it was Scotland's dominance that was the driving force in this match, as a Hamilton double seemed to seal the victory for Ally Dawson's side. With minutes remaining to go Scotland could have added another when a Matt Ramsay shot clipped the post.
The match was opening up as Mexico pushed further forward looking for a goal that would drag them back into the running but it appeared Scotland had the measure of the game with some nice possession play but with seconds to spare Mexico piled pressure upon their opponents when they struck an excellent third goal.
It was to be too little too late for the Mexicans though and as the final whistle was blown, a huge roar of delight rose from the watching supporters in support of the Scots who had won not only the match but also their second World Cup. Kinda ironic in a week that saw all Scottish sides dumped so miserably from European competition.
In admiration for their efforts, the team will be paraded at at Hampden Park on Tuesday night prior to the Men's National team in the Euro qualifying match against Lithuania.
Well done to Ally Dawson and to all the players involved, a great result and hopefully they can be an inspiration to millions of people around the world of what can be achieved with hope and ability.
Scotland Squad: James Horsburgh, William McLean, William Lawrence, Barry Gannon, Robert Hare, Sean Lawrence, William Hamilton, Matthew Ramsay.
Marc Roseblade is a Contributor for Bleacher Report as well as Not Just Scottish Football and youth development reporter for Ayr United Football Academy. All quotes are obtained first-hand unless otherwise stated.
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