Villarreal lose to Cagliari Calcio and Fort Lauderdale Strikers but could still make it to the knockout rounds

Villarreal kicked off their third participation at TST full of hope, but fell short against Cagliari Calcio (1-2) and Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1-2) on the opening day. Everything comes down to Thursday against Club América (11pm CEST).

The first match of Group J was against the Italian side. Things started perfectly when Xisco Nadal opened the scoring in the first half. However two Radja Nainggolan free-kicks, the latter at the start of Target Score Time condemned the Yellows to defeat.

Second up was a match against the historic Floridian side. The Yellows competed well, dominating the game, but went behind at the start of the first half after a Artem Barsnovsky goal. A moment of magic from Yahir Romero hit a Strikers defender to equalise with a minute left of the second half (1-1).

Then the controversy came, another Yahir Romero cross from the right came into the box. It hit a Fort Lauderdale defender and clearly crossed the line, but the officiating team did not give the goal. While it should have been 2-1 to Villarreal, Target Score Time started at 1-1, with the next goal winning the game.

Despite dominating possession, a quick counter attack condemned Villarreal, with Jesse Williams scoring the winner for the Americans.

Next up is a match against Club América (Thursday, 11pm CEST). Only a win for Villarreal could see the Yellows move through to the Round of 32.