(Photo by Tomás Diniz Santos)
The Florida Cup seventh annual event came to a close July 25 as Everton FC took the title in a 10-9 penalty-kick shootout win. On its second and final day, Everton took a 1-0 win over Pumas UNAM and Atlético Nacional edged a 3-2 victory over Millonarios at the Camping World Stadium July 28.
Due to the withdrawal of Arsenal and Inter Milan prior to the tournament due to COVID-19 concerns, the Florida Cup invited Atlético Nacional and Pumas UNAM to fill the lineup and to have two friendly games to round out the event.
In the first match, Everton held Pumas scoreless and took the win with a goal courtesy of Moise Kean in the 19th minute. The keeper, Julio Gonzalez, made the initial save but Kean tapped the rebound into the back of the net. Everton leaves the tournament undefeated and with the trophy to take back across the pond.
Here is Kean’s goal!
@Everton 1 0 @PumasMX #FloridaCup pic.twitter.com/8JYWCdO6ld
— Florida Cup (@Florida_Cup) July 28, 2021
“We were expecting that (Pumas) would play in another way,” Everton manager Rafa Benitez said after the match. “We were watching some games and they changed the system. And that is good news for us because we were learning how to manage another way to attack and defend against a different system. And that is a great opportunity for us to grow, to improve. And I think that we did well in the end.”
The second match of the night was filled with drama and goals galore. The two Colombian teams are first division rivals in the Categoría Primera A. The match kicked off with an early goal six minutes into the game from Jarlan Barrera for Nacional.
@MillosFCoficial 0 1 @nacionaloficial #FloridaCup pic.twitter.com/A33rBi4hdh
— Florida Cup (@Florida_Cup) July 29, 2021
The stadium was split, dividing the fans, and the chants and noise filled the stadium more and more as the game went on. These two teams have a long history dating back to 1941 so the friendly seemed more like a league game.
In the 25th minute, Millonarios midfielder, David Macalister Silva leveled the score with the contender for the goal of the tournament. Although the shot was deflected by the defender, it was headed on-target so credit for the goal goes to Silva.
David Silva , ladies and gentlemen.
That’s the first one from .
@MillosFCoficial 2 2 @nacionaloficial #FloridaCup pic.twitter.com/XcNmiKy0OQ
— Florida Cup (@Florida_Cup) July 29, 2021
Millonarios couldn’t celebrate for long as just six minutes later, in the 31st minute, Jonatan Alvez made it 2-1 for Nacional. In what was an already intense match, Millonarios tied the score again, two minutes later with Silva’s second goal of the game.
Before the two teams headed into the locker room for the halftime break, Alvez put the game-winner and his second goal into the net after the ball deflected to the back post on a corner kick in the 44th minute. Alvez would go on to win the man of the match award for his performance.
Alvez scored from a corner to put Los Verdolagas ahead once again!
@MillosFCoficial 2 3 @nacionaloficial #FloridaCup pic.twitter.com/xAwlbkvkHE
— Florida Cup (@Florida_Cup) July 29, 2021
The match was scoreless in the second half after a five-goal first half, although there were several good chances for both teams.
Arsenal and Inter Milan fans will have to wait and see if their beloved teams will be invited again next year for the Florida Cup 2022 tournament. It is still unclear if next year’s event will be in the summer, like this year, or return to its normal spring dates.
For more information on Florida Cup 2021 or on any of the games, visit FloridaCup.com.
