England had to settle for second place at the IBSA Partially Sighted World Championship in Turkey, following Saturday's 6-2 defeat against Ukraine.
Ian Bateman's team had secured their place in the final after finishing the group stage in second spot, behind the eventual winners.
And despite the Para Lions' best efforts, Ukraine justified their tag as tournament favourites with victory.
Full report to follow...
England squad: 1 Dylan Malpas, 2 Andy Cahill, 3 Josh Pugh, 4 Harry Gibbons, 5 Harry McDonald, 6 Adam Lione, 7 Stephen Daley, 8 Kevin Price, 9 Tom Lamb, 10 John McDougall, 11 Liam Spinks, 13 Jose Dos Santos
Russia 3-0 England
Friday 13 December
Antalya, Turkey
England's final group game at the IBSA Partially Sighted World Championship ended in a 3-0 defeat against Russia.
The Para Lions went into the match sitting in second spot in their group and remain hopeful of contesting the Final on Saturday, following the clash between Turkey and Spain
Ian Bateman's squad will face Ukraine in the Final, which kicks-off at 1pm GMT.
Turkey 1-7 England
Thursday 12 December
Antalya, Turkey
England moved to within touching distance of the IBSA Partially Sighted Futsal World Championships final, after hitting seven past hosts Turkey in a dominant performance.
The Para Lions controlled the match from the outset, creating numerous opportunities, the first of which was scored by Andy Cahill after seven minutes.
Cahill added another shortly before half time after a well-rehearsed corner delivery from John McDougall before Tom Lamb extended England’s lead shortly after the break with a well-taken goal.
It was 4-0 shortly afterwards as Cahill completed his hat-trick, just before Turkey rallied and managed to pull one goal back.
England finished strongly, scoring three more times inside the final five minutes through Kevin Price, Adam Lione and 16-year-old Liam Spinks in the closing seconds.
“The boys were magnificent against the competition hosts and coped well with the raucous atmosphere their fans generated," said assistant coach Marc Forrest.
"The performance showed the depth and quality of the squad, and particularly their ability to deal with another tough opponent coming so quickly in the competition schedule. We’re in a good position to reach the final but have to stick to our principles and ensure we complete this stage of the job.”
Ukraine 3-0 England
Wednesday 11 December
Antalya, Turkey
England suffered their first defeat at the IBSA Partially Sighted World Championship on Wednesday afternoon, with a 3-0 reverse against Ukraine.
Ian Bateman's team had previously won all three of their opening games to put themselves in a strong position in their group, but perennial challengers Ukraine proved a strong opponent.
They took the lead through Oleksandr Hetmanov after just two minutes, before Oleksii Zavolovyi made it 2-0 after ten minutes.
And an own goal from Liam Spinks in the 12th minute completed the scoring.
England 6-2 Japan
Tuesday 10 December
Antalya, Turkey
England made it three wins from three at the IBSA Partially Sighted World Championship on Tuesday, after a 6-2 victory over Japan.
The game got off to an electric start in Antalya, with Andy Cahill slotting England ahead only for Kei Akasaki to equalise within a minute.
John McDougall then restored the advantage to 2-1 before Akasaki struck Japan level again to ensure it was all square at the break.
But Ian Bateman's men found their rhythm in the second half, with two goals in three minutes from Tom Lamb and Stephen Daley.
And there was a final flurry too, as Lamb notched his second of the game in the 34th minute before McDougall also completed a brace in the following minute.
England 4-2 Spain
Monday 9 December
Antalya, Turkey
England made it two wins from two in Turkey, to continue their impressive start to the IBSA Partially Sighted Futsal World Championships.
After beating Italy in Saturday’s opener, Ian Bateman’s team had Euro opposition in their second game on Monday morning by lining up against Spain.
And the Para Lions picked up where they left off, by replicating the same scoreline in Antalya.
Andy Cahill got the opening goal after just ten minutes to give England a goal lead at the break before a storming spell for England which saw them score three goals within two minutes.
The first arrived thanks to Cahill finishing at the back post from a John McDougall corner; the second came courtesy of Kevin Price who got the merest of touches to a Steve Daley thunderbolt with the third being added in equally spectacular fashion from Adam Lione.
Spain came back strongly and managed to reduce the arrears, firstly scoring from a six-metre penalty with the second arriving swiftly after from Oliver Rodriguez . Shaken by the fightback, the Para Lions regained control of the half and saw out the game to go joint-top on six points in the group stage.
“It’s a good win for us today against a traditionally tricky opponent," said Bateman.
"We controlled the game and our start to the second half, in particular, was excellent scoring three times in quick succession. We’re into the thick of the competition now and its important to keep the momentum going tomorrow against Japan.”
Italy 2-4 England
Saturday 7 December
Antalya, Turkey
The Para Lions got their campaign off to a winning start on Saturday, with a 4-2 victory over Italy in their opening game with Tom Lamb grabbing a hat-trick.
Andy Cahill struck first after nine minutes, before Tom Lamb doubled the advantage shortly after with quarter of an hour on the clock.
The Azzurri found a lifeline three minutes later through Fabio Cazzanti, just before the break having already missed a long penalty.
But Lamb got his second to make it 3-1 after half time before Italy again reduced the deficit, via Salvatore Boi, but Lamb completed his treble with thje rebound from a saved penalty in the 40th minute to make sure Ian Bateman’s team got a solid three points to kick-off.
“We knew we were in for a tough game but the lads have come through well," said Bateman.
"Opening games are never easy but we’ve got points on the board early on which sets us up nicely for our next game on Monday against Spain and the run of games that will come after.”
England squad: 1 Dylan Malpas, 2 Andy Cahill, 3 Josh Pugh, 4 Harry Gibbons, 5 Harry McDonald, 6 Adam Lione, 7 Stephen Daley, 8 Kevin Price, 9 Tom Lamb, 10 John McDougall, 11 Liam Spinks, 13 Jose Dos Santos
