As the 2018 Lisbon Tournament Cup Quarter-Finals were about to get underway we were down to the elite 8 teams in the tournament. There was a particularly strong English challenge with 4 English teams represented. There was also a team each from Denmark, Ireland, Poland and Portugal.

We started on Pitch A with Wessex FC versus AFC Basemen. Wessex FC had been slow starters today with 1 point from the first 6 on offer but since then they had been imperious. 3 wins from 3 saw them power up the table to win Group A. AFC Basemen had seen their form follow the opposite trajectory. They opened up with 2 wins before a draw and a defeat in the final fixture. The defeat was a heavy one to Danish Dynamites so we hoped it will not have been a confidence destroying defeat.

Wessex FC were beginning to look the real deal in this tournament and it was they who took the lead. Bilal Salouache had 5 goals already today and he broke the deadlock here. He also added a second to make it 2-0 at half-time. His hat-trick goal made it 3-0 before Hamza Salouache made it 4-0. Things were improving at the back for Wessex FC as they would keep their first clean sheet of the day.

After such a bright start for AFC Basemen it was a disappointing way to exit the tournament but Danish Dynamites and Wessex FC were both strong teams in an overall strong tournament. This was an above average tournament in terms of the overall standard of teams so we are sure AFC Basemen could go further on a different day.

Quarter-Final three saw Danish Dynamites take on Tinniedad & Tobacco. Danish Dynamites had been hugely impressive this morning en route to winning Group B. Their only slip-up was a defeat when reduced to four men after a sending off. Tinniedad & Tobacco had qualified for the Cup for the fifth time in five attempts and were looking to reach a fourth Semi-Final.

These two teams shared a statistic in eurofootballfives.com history – both had reached a Cup Semi-Final in our Barcelona Fives tournament and both had gone out on penalties.

Jesper Frisch was the man to score first in this game – it was his 8th of the tournament and 14th goal for Danish Dynamites overall making him his team's top scorer. The lead did not last long though as Matt Haythorn equalized before Oliver Jackson put the English team 2-1 up.

In the second half it was Danish Dynamites turn to hit back as they equalized through Jens Bodker Knudsen – his 4th of the day and 12th in eurofootballfives.com competition. Tinniedad & Tobacco took the lead for a second time when Jon McKinley made it 3-2. Michael Wilkes secured the win to make it 4-2 and Tinniedad & Tobacco were through.

The tournament was over for Danish Dynamites – for today at least. There are rumours we may see them again in Barcelona later this year. We certainly hope so.

The final Quarter-Final was Saipan FC versus Indoorsoccer. This was the fifth time that Saipan FC had qualified for the Cup having previously done so at the 2012 Barcelona Fives, 2015 Bratislava Fives, 2015 Mallorca Tournament and 2016 Algarve Open. This would arguably be one of their toughest Quarter-Finals as they played against a team who had a 100% record in the Quarters.

Indoorsoccer had beaten BUILDers 3-0 at this stage in 2015 and won 1-0 versus Jackson's Five in 2017. The two teams had almost identical records today. Both teams had won 4 and lost 1 in the group phase. Indoorsoccer had a slightly better goal difference 13-6 to Saipan FC's 11-5 but there really was little to choose between the teams.

On the pitch the two teams could be separated and in a very fast start it was Saipan FC who hit the front. Agus Benedito Galmes put his team 1-0 up before Hector Navarro Real scored his 9th of the tournament. At their last 2 tournaments, Saipan FC's Nacho Mochales had been top scorer at the 2015 Mallorca Tournament and 2016 Algarve Open. With Nacho Mochales not present in Lisbon we wondered how Saipan FC would replace those goals – Hector Navarro Real was the answer. He was also currently leading the way to be the top scorer in this tournament.

2-0 at half-time was a commanding position for Saipan FC but it was not a winning position – not yet anyway. Indoorsoccer would pull a goal back in the second half through Joao Mendes' 7th strike of the day.

Saipan FC were resilient though and managed to see out the game. They completed a 2-1 win and marched on to the Semi-Finals.

It was not to be today for Indoorsoccer whose quest for their first Cup Final continues. We very much hope they will be back in 2019 to give it another go.