Kazakhstan delivered a surprising performance by eliminating the reigning world champion Portugal in the Round of 16 of the Futsal World Cup, securing a 2-1 victory. With this win, Kazakhstan advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will face the winner of the Argentina-Croatia match.
The match saw Kazakhstan's Dauren Tursagulov score the decisive goal with just 14 seconds left on the clock. This victory marks Kazakhstan's impressive run in the tournament, remaining unbeaten with three wins and one draw. Goalkeeper Higuita's outstanding saves were pivotal, earning him the title of the match's best player.
The game was characterized by its back-and-forth nature, with Kazakhstan taking the lead through Chingiz Yessenamanov's goal in the 11th minute. Portugal, forced to respond, struggled to equalize despite launching 33 shots compared to Kazakhstan's 12.
In the second half, Zicky Té from Sporting Lisbon equalized for Portugal just 20 seconds in, but the world champions could not capitalize on their momentum. Tursagulov's late goal ultimately sealed Kazakhstan's triumph, avenging their previous semifinal defeat to Portugal in the 2021 World Cup held in Lithuania.