Real Madrid make semi-finals as Egypt Stars top group A

Egypt v Barcelona and AS Roma v Real Madrid in semi-finals on 6th July

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Real Madrid eased their way to finals day as they beat FC Porto 4-2 with Egypt Stars topping group A on the penultimate day of the Dubai Indoor Football Championship at the Dubai World Trade Centre last night.

Unbeaten Egypt Stars will play defending champions FC Barcelona at 7pm, with AS Roma v Real Madrid at 8pm with the final of the 3rd edition of the Indoor Football Championship at 9pm at the Sheikh Rashid Hall.

In a winner takes all game, Real Madrid and FC Porto produced a thriller in the first game of the evening and it was the Spanish giants who took the initiative into half-time with goals from Ruben de la Red and Ivan Perez Minoz. The Portuguese pulled two goals back thanks to Russel Latapy and Rui Barros but it was de la Red who gave his team breathing space and a place in the semi-final by completing his hat-trick.

In the second game of the day, with both teams guaranteed a place on finals day, FC Barcelona and AS Roma gave the capacity crowd an entertaining 2-2, with the prolific Santi Ezqueirro and Massimiliano Cappioli amongst the goal scorers.

Egypt Stars warmed up for their semi-final encounter with FC Barcelona by beating Algeria Stars 5-2, thanks to a hat-trick from Adil Ebrahim. In the final game of the evening, home favourites UAE and Moroccan Stars bowed out of the championship by producing a 5-5 thriller with Omar Najjar amongst the goal scorers for the Moroccans.

The Dubai Indoor Football Championship takes place alongside Dubai Sports World, the region's largest indoor sporting event. It is organised by Dubai World Trade Centre in partnership with Dubai Sports Council, and is sponsored by Emirates NBD, Chevrolet, Decathlon and Power Horse. The semi-final and finals will take place from 7pm; doors open at 6.00pm. Fans can purchase tickets at the venue priced AED50. For more information, call 04 3064000. Or visit www.dubaifootballchamps.com