Groups drawn for football 7-a-side at Rio 2016 Paralympic Games
Russia pitted against Netherlands, Argentina and USA while Ukraine face hosts, Ireland and Great Britain
Russia beat Ukraine in the gold medal match at London 2012 (Photo:Getty Images/Dennis Grombkowski)
The groups for the football 7-a-side tournament at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games were drawn on Saturday (7 May) during the International Federation for Ceberal Palsy Football (IFCPF) pre-Paralympic tournament in the Spanish town of Salou.
Paralympic and world champions Russia were drawn in group B where they will face fierce competition from the Netherlands, the most successful country in football 7-a-side at the Paralympic Games, along with Parapan American Games runners-up Argentina and a strong USA side.
In group A, world championship runners-up Ukraine, confident after their victory in the pre-Paralympic completion, were drawn alongside Great Britain, Ireland and host-nation Brazil.
Ibz Diallo of Great Britain in action against Argentina's Brian Vivot at London 2012 (Photo: Getty Images/Ben Hoskins)
The luck of the Irish
Irish coach JJ Glyn admitted that their group was tough but remained confident, saying: “On a positive note, we have played two of the three teams we will face in Rio this week [during the 2016 pre-Paralympic tournament] so we know where we are in relation to them, and we know what we need to do to beat them.”
The football 7-a-side competition will take place on 8-16 September in the Deodoro Stadium.
