Since the FIFA era began, Portugal have fared relatively similarly, winning the 2015 title, finishing as runners-up in 2005 and earning bronze medals three times (2008, 2009, 2011).

[14] Italy went into the season as reigning European champions having won the 2018 EBSL and began the year by qualifying for the World Beach Games, where they went on to lose to Iran in the bronze medal match.

[2] The last five meetings are documented in the below table: Period one began with Portugal on the offensive and Italy on the defensive,[9][19] the latter's style compared to the Catenaccio tactics classically used by their national football team.

[20] Del Mestre was forced into good saves from Jordan and then Be Martins,[24] whilst, Gori and Zurlo saw their free kicks go narrowly wide for Italy.

Leo Martins won possession just inside his own half and lead Portugal on a quick counterattack,[6][19][24] ultimately squaring the ball to an unmarked Jordan in the middle who fired home at the edge of the box.

[4][6][9][24] Despite the two goal gap, the game remained balanced as the second half of period two progressed; Leo Martins wasted a great chance, a one-on-one opportunity against the goalkeeper, shooting wide.

[6] Soon after, Leo Martins completed a brace from a free kick given away by Marinai just outside the Italian box, extending the Portuguese lead to 5–1 with just eight minutes left on the clock.

[4][21] And then from Ramacciotti's corner,[4] Josep Junior ran from deep to head in at the back post for 5–3,[21][22][24] reigniting the match as a contest,[6][23] seeing Portugal take a more cautious approach into the final minutes.

[4][23] Italy's remaining efforts proved futile, save for a final attempt by Ramacciotti through Andrade's legs mere seconds from full time.

[20][22] But the goal bothered Portugal not as they knew they had won the game ,[6] and as the last seconds ticked by, the TV cameras were already focused on Madjer on the Portuguese bench who had begun crying.

[29] Players and staff made analytic comments to the media after the match, including: Italian silver shoe winner, Emmanuele Zurlo:[30] I am really proud of my team-mates.

This is the perfect way to end a fantastic year, bearing in mind we also won the Euro Beach Soccer League and the European Games.

After the trophy ceremony, Portuguese captain, Madjer, clarified his tears at the final whistle as "farewell tears";[32] he announced his retirement from international beach soccer, aged 42, bringing to an end a 22 year playing career, having claimed eleven individual awards at FIFA editions of the World Cup,[7][33][34] as well as being by far the tournament's all-time top scorer with 88 goals[35] and a total of 140 since the 1995 establishment of a world championship for beach soccer.

[33][31][36][43][44] Madjer revealed the news in an emotional speech to the media:[33] A big hug to all Portuguese, I thank from the bottom of my heart all the support you have given me throughout my career.

[45] Having accepted an invitation,[46] the team then travelled to Belém Palace in Lisbon to meet with the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at 13:45 in the Sala das Bicas.

[48] Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina and Lega Nazionale Dilettanti (LND) president Cosimo Sibilia, both issued statements congratulating the Italian team on their silver medal and viewed the team's tournament very positively, despite the final loss, noting the increased engagement of new fans and reaffirming their commitments to develop the sport domestically.

[21] In Italy, the match started at 22:00 local time and was broadcast live on pay television channel Sky Sport, earning an audience share of 0.4% (~0.1m viewers).