FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2017

Final

Brazil defeated Tahiti 6-0
Scorers
Brazil: Mauricinho 1', 18', Datinha 7', Catarino 30', Daniel 32', 33'

Third place play-off

Iran defeated Italy 5-3
Scorers
Iran: Ahmadzadeh 3', 14', 36'(p), Mokhtari 19', Mesigar 30'
Italy: Gori 26', 29', Ramacciotti 33'

Semifinals

Tahiti defeated Iran 1-1 (AET) 3-2 (penalties)
Scorers
Tahiti: Tepa 32'
Iran: Nazem 19'

Brazil defeated Italy 8-4
Scorers
Brazil: Mauricinho 2', 15', 19', Rodrigo 9', Catarino 12', Lucão 17', Mão 22', Bokinha 26'
Italy: Marrucci 2', Ramacciotti 9', Gori 26'(p), Corosiniti 26'

Quaterfinals

Iran defeated Switzerland 4-3 (AET)
Scorers
Iran: Ahmadzadeh 4', 14', Nazem 36', Mokhtari 39'
Switzerland: Francois 19', 33', St. Fleur 22', Williams 34'

Tahiti defeated Paraguay 6-4
Scorers
Tahiti: Jo 9', N. Bennett 12', Taiarui 19', Labaste 29', Tavanae 36', Tepa 36'
Paraguay: Fernandez 15', Moran 18', 24', Zayas 36'

Italy defeated Senegal 5-1
Scorers
Italy: Gori 2'(p), 23', 27'(p), Marrucci 21', Frainetti 25'
Senegal: Balde 34' (p)

Brazil defeated Portugal 4-3
Scorers
Brazil: Catarino 1', Datinha 19'(p), 21', Rodrigo 34'
Portugal: Torres 1', Jordan 12', 30'

Group Stage

Group A

Matches

Switzerland defeated Senegal 6-6 (AET) 3-1 (penalties)
Scorers
Switzerland: Hodel 4', Stankovic 23'(p), 24', 31', Werder 28', Spacca 39
Senegal: Fall 2', Balde 13', Diagne 18', 32', Ndoye 25', Ndour 38'

Bahamas defeated Ecuador 4-1
Scorers
Bahamas: Francois 19', 33', St. Fleur 22', Williams 34'
Ecuador: Moreira 29'

Senegal defeated Ecuador 9-0
Scorers
Senegal: Diagne 6', 17', Barry 7', 9', 21', Ndoye 15', 34', Diassy 24', Balde 25'

Switzerland defeated Bahamas 3-2
Scorers
Switzerland: Ott 6', Hodel 13', 27'
Bahamas: St. Fleur 1', Christie 31'

Senegal defeated Bahamas 10-1
Scorers
Senegal: Sylla 1', Balde 2', 3', 21', Diagne 5', Diassy 8', Ndoye 26', 30', Diouf 34', 34'
Bahamas: Christie 17'(p)

Switzerland defeated Ecuador 9-5
Scorers
Switzerland: Mo Jaeggy 7', Stankovic 8', 15', 33', Ott 10', 10', 18', 23', Werder 10'
Ecuador: Bailon 15', Cedeno 16', 22', Delgado 21', Gallegos 23'

Table Standing

Rank	Team	Pld	W	W+	WP	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Switzerland	3	2	0	1	0	18	13	+5	7
2	Senegal	3	2	0	0	1	25	7	+18	6
3	Bahamas	3	1	0	0	2	7	14	-7	3
4	Ecuador	3	0	0	0	3	6	22	-16	0

Group B

Matches

Italy defeated Mexico 8-1
Scorers
Italy: Di Palma 3', Zurlo 17', Palmacci 17', 26', Gori 20', 24', 31', Ramacciotti 34'
Mexico: Maldonado 35'

Iran defeated Nigeria 4-4 (AET) 2-1(penalties)
Scorers
Iran: Ahmadzadeh 8', 21', Mokhtari 16', 33'
Nigeria: Tale 15'(p), Emmanuel 19', Godspower 22', Ibenegbu 33'

Iran defeated Mexico 3-2
Scorers
Iran: Hosseini 20', Akbari 29', Ahmadzadeh 31'
Mexico: Mosco 21', Maldonado 25'

Italy defeated Nigeria 12-6
Scorers
Italy: Palmacci 2', 31', 31', Zurlo 9', Gori 19', 21', 23', 29', 29', 32', Di Palma 23', Chiavaro 35'
Nigeria: Abu 2', 28', 35', Godspower 6', Tale 22', Emeka 23'

Nigeria defeated Mexico 5-4 (AET)
Scorers
Nigeria: Emeka 15', Abu 20', 39', Tale 35', Godspower 37'
Mexico: Villa 8', A. Rodriguez 15', Maldonado 16'(p), Mosco 39'

Italy defeated Iran 5-4
Scorers
Italy: Gori 8', 26', Corisiniti 29', Ramacciotti 29', 34'
Iran: Akbari 9', Ahmadzadeh 11', Mesigar 18', Mokhtari 36'

Table Standing

Rank	Team	Pld	W	W+	WP	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Italy	3	3	0	0	0	25	11	+14	9
2	Iran	3	1	0	1	1	11	11	0	4
3	Nigeria	3	0	1	0	2	15	20	-5	2
4	Mexico	3	0	0	0	3	7	16	-9	0

Group C

Matches

Paraguay defeated Panama 5-2
Scorers
Paraguay: Villaverde 1', Benitez 5', Zayas 10', Carballo 25', Moran 30'
Panama: Watson 9', Rangel 27'

Portugal defeated United Arab Emirates 2-1 (AET)
Scorers
Portugal: Belchior 19', Bruno Novo 37'
United Arab Emirates: Ali Karim 36'

Paraguay defeated Portugal 5-3
Scorers
Paraguay: Rolon 4', Moran 16', 31', Lopez 27', Carballo 27'
Portugal: Jordan 11', 18', Alan 34'

United Arab Emirates defeated Panama 2-2 (AET) 3-2 (penalties)
Scorers
United Arab Emirates: Walid 1', 9'
Panama: Galvez 2', Arrocha 2'

Portugal defeated Panama 7-0
Scorers
Portugal: Torres 3', Leo Martins 5', 28', Coimbra 6', José Maria 13', 32', Belchior 31'

United Arab Emirates defeated Paraguay 3-2
Scorers
United Arab Emirates: Haitham 5', 12', W. Beshir 25'
Paraguay: Carballo 9', 29'

Table Standing

Rank	Team	Pld	W	W+	WP	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Paraguay	3	2	0	0	1	12	8	+4	6
2	Portugal	3	1	1	0	1	12	6	+6	5
3	United Arab Emirates	3	1	0	1	1	6	6	0	4
4	Panama	3	0	0	0	3	4	14	-10	0

Group D

Matches

Tahiti defeated Poland 8-4
Scorers
Tahiti: Fung Kuee 2', 36', Tavanae 4', 34', Tepa 7', Angel 12', N. Bennett 13', 18'
Poland: Lenart 22', Kubiak 27'(p), R. Bennett 31'(og), Jesionowski 34'

Brazil defeated Japan 9-3/b>
Scorers
Brazil: Goto 5'(og), Rodrigo 6', 17', 23', 28', 36', Mauricinho 20', 35', Catarino 21'
Japan: Oba 10', Goto 12', Bokhinha 22'(og)

Tahiti defeated Japan 4-3
Scorers
Tahiti: Labaste 4', Tavanae 26', Tepa 28', Li Fung Kuee 35'
Japan: Akaguma 26', 31', 34'

Brazil defeated Poland 7-4
Scorers
Brazil: Lucao 6', Catarino 20', 31', Rodrigo 24', Fernando 26', 34', Mauricinho 36'
Poland: Jesionowski 3', 34', Saganowski 32', 36'(p)

Japan defeated Poland 9-4
Scorers
Japan: Goto 4', 5', 18', 22', 27', Oba 16'(p), Iino 22', Yamauchi 23', 30'
Poland: Jesionowski 18', Saganowski 19', 26', Ziober 36'

Brazil defeated Tahiti 4-1
Scorers
Brazil: Filipe 5', Bruno Xavier 7', Catarino 13', 29'
Tahiti: Tepa 3'

Table Standing

Rank	Team	Pld	W	W+	WP	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Brazil	3	3	0	0	0	20	8	+12	9
2	Tahiti	3	2	0	0	1	13	11	+2	6
3	Japan	3	1	0	0	2	15	17	-2	3
4	Poland	3	0	0	0	3	12	24	-12	0

First Match

So near yet so far. South africa alomost did it but failed to hold the lead. The match ended 1-1 with Mexico. I expected more skill from Mexico but South Africa impressed me more. Let wait for the next match which I expect to end in draw as well.

Brazil The Champion

Brazil won the FIFA Beach Soccer world cup for third consecutive time. Brazil defeated Italy 5-3 in the final. They actually owe it to their team game. They didn’t depend on any individual player, they played as a team. Daniel was the hero in the quarterfinal match whereas Andre bailed them out in the semifinal. Italy was 0-5 down before recovering in the third period to score three times. But that was not enough to stop Brazil for third win.

Madjer the scorer

Madjer for the third time won the Golden shoe. He scored 13 goals. Amarelle of Spain won the Golden Ball and Roberto Valeiro of Spain won the Golden glove. Amarelle also won the Silver ball award. Russia won the fair play award.

Portugal won the third position by defeating Spain 5-4. Portugal had a very good tournament. They are really improving year by year. Spain depended on Amarelle too much. Italy was the surprise team of the tournament.

Great comebacks in the Semifinals

Brazil thrice came back from behind to score 5-4 win over favorites Portugal. This will be third consecutive final for Brazil. They will meet Italy who defeated Spain 1-0 in the penalty shootout. They also came back thrice against Spain. The game ended 4-4 in the scheduled time. This is first final for Italy. Portugal will meet Spain in the third place playoff. Belchior and Majder scored their 10th goal of the tournament.

Will Italy become the first team in three years to defeat Brazil?

All European Final?

The semifinal lineup is finalized, Portugal to meet Brazil and Spain to Italy. For the first time in FIFA Beach Soccer World cup three European teams have entered the semifinal. Will this year be all European final after 2005? Spain is having a great year in sports. Will they go all the way here or Portugal will have the last laugh? Don't forget we have Brazil also.

The best quarterfinal was between Brazil and Russia. Russia twice taken the lead, 2-0, 3-2 but failed to keep them. Daniel was the hero for Brazil, scoring a hattrick in 6-4 win. Buru was shown the red card and will miss the semifinal. It is a bog blow to Brazil.

Portugal continued their good form against Uruguay. They won 6-3. Madjer scored his 50th goal. But the star of Portugal is Belchior. He is top scorer with 9 goals along with Madjer. Belchior is frontrunner for both golden ball and golden shoe. He will be the main threat against Brazil.

Spain played a very tactical game against Argentina in their 2-0 win. This is the fourth occasion in this world cup where a team failed to score. Nico scored two goals for Spain. Argentina again failed to break the jinx of the quarterfinal. Italy defeated the host, France, 5-2 to enter the semifinal for the first time. We have seen that most of the teams are defensively very strong. So we may have less number of goals. FIFA this year introducing a new award Golden glove for the best goalkeeper. Roberto Valeiro of Spain, Andrey Bukhlitskiy of Russia, Marcelo Salgueiro of Argentina and Luis Rodas of El Salvador are vying for the award.

Portugal and Spain should be in the final. Without Buru Brazil will be a weak team though Benjamin is playing well. Benjamin along with Belchior is the frontrunner for golden ball. Portugal is the last country to beat Brazil in world cup. Portugal so far scored 32 goals and Brazil 24 goals. Spain should win easily against Italy. For me Portugal and Spain are favorites.

Russia creates history

Russia created history by keeping clean sheet in two consecutive matches. They defeated UAE 5-0 to enter the quarterfinal. In the previous match they defeated Cameroon 4-0. They now have the meanest defence in the tournament. Spain and Brazil entered the quarterfinal from group D. Brazil defeated Mexico 7-1. Argentina also kept a clean sheet. They defeated Cameroon 3-0.

We will have some interesting match in the quarterfinal. The quarterfinal line up is: Portugal vs Uruguay, Argentina vs Spain, France vs Italy and Brazil vs Russia. We may see Portugal, Spain, France and Brazil in the semifinal.

Big Guns through to Quaterfinals

Uruguay, Portugal, Argentina, and Italy reached the quarter final. Madjer scored 5 goals to take his tally to 7 in this world cup. What an amazing goal scorer he is. He has scored 48 goals in four World cup. Portugal defeated Solomon Island 13-4. Spain and Russia scored important wins. Spain defeated Mexico 2-1 in a close match to stay alive in the tournament. Russia defeated Cameroon 4-0. This is the first time in this tournament a side could keep a clean sheet. This is third time in the history of Beach World cup a team could keep clean sheet. Portugal in 2005 against Japan (4-0) and Canada in 2006 against Spain (4-0) France continues to struggle. They scrape past Iran in penalty shootout. Uruguay defeated Senegal 8-7 in extra time. Pape Koukpaki of Senegal scored 4 times but still ended in the losing side. Brazil registered their second win in as many matches. They crushed Japan 8-1 in style. Banjamin played wonderfully.

FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2008: Curtain Raiser - 2

Majder – Legend in Beach Football

I am not sure how many people are aware of the name Majder. He is already a legend in the history of FIFA Beach football. He has twice (2005 and 2006) won the Golden Boot and Golden Shoe. He is the top soccer of the tournament history. I cannot recall if anybody has achieved the same feet in any other FIFA tournament including World cup. He has scored 41 goals in three tournaments. He is again going to a star attraction in this year edition.

Buru of Brazil has won the Golden Boot and Golden Shoe in 2007. He had scored 10 goals in the last edition. He will be one of the key players for Brazil. The other key players are Benjamin, Bruno, Sidney, Junior Negao and Bruno.

Brazil the favorites

Brazil has won the tournament twice, 2006 and 2007. They are one of the favorites in the tournament along with Spain, Portugal, and France. Brazil is the top scoring team in the tournament history. They have scored 134 goals followed by Portugal and France with 88 and 79 goals respectively. Spain the European champion this year will be another favorite. 2008 is turning out to be a great year for Spain. They won the European championship this year and Nadal won both the Wimbledon and French Open. We also have to wait and see

Goals Galore

Beach football sees lot of goals. In 2005, 164 goals were scored in 20 matches at an average of 8.2 goals. Brazil though failed to qualify for the final is the top scorer team with 39 goals. Portugal and France scored 27 and 26 goals respectively. Majder of Portugal was the top scorer with 12 goals.

In 2006, 286 goals were scored in 32 matches at an average of 8.9 goals. Brazil, the champion, is the top scorer team with 52 goals. Portugal and France scored 43 and 32 goals respectively. Majder of Portugal was the top scorer for the second time with 21 goals, which is a record till date.

In 2007, 261 goals were scored in 32 matches at an average of 8.1 goals. Brazil, the champion, is the top scorer team with 43 goals. Mexico and France scored 24 and 21 goals respectively. Buru of Brazil was the top scorer with 10 goals.

Tomorrow the tournament starts in France. We now start enjoying the action. Will the old guards dominate the tournament or a new surprise like Mexico (2007) will be there.


Reference: www.fifa.com

Olympic Football 2008: Argentina and Nigeria are favorites

Argentina Hot Favorite

In my last article, I have written will Brazil win the elusive Olympic gold medal. They are taking a strong team no doubt. Now let us discuss about the prospect of other teams. Last time gold medalist Argentina is hot favorite. They have won the under-20 FIFA World cup in 2005 and 2007. They are bringing their U-20 stars along with Messi to challenge other teams. Argentina is placed in Group A along with Côte d'Ivoire, Australia and Serbia. They will face little challenge on their way to second round. They may face Netherlands or Nigeria in quarterfinal. There is mouth watering match can be a possible in semi final, Brazil vs Argentina. If it happens Olympic football will reach dizzy height with stars like Messi, Robinho and Ronaldinho will play.

African Challenge

Recently Africa teams are doing very well in Olympic football. Cameroon, Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire will lead the African challenge. Nigeria which won the Under-17 2007 World cup will be another favorite. Nigeria should qualify for quarterfinal from group B. Their main challenger will be Netherlands. USA and Japan can cause few upsets here. Cameroon is placed in group D having Italy as the main challenger. Honduras and Korea are the other team. Côte d'Ivoire has to beat Australia and Serbia to qualify from this group along with Argentina.

European Challenge

Spain is the last European country to win gold medal in 1992. I doubt Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Serbia will emulate Spain in this year tournament. Netherlands won bronze medal in 1908, 1912, and 1920. Italy won gold medal in 1936, and bronze in 1928 and 2004.

Kick off

The tournament starts on 7th Aug’08 with eight matches. We have two very interesting match. Argentina will meet Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria will face Netherlands. In other notable matches Brazil meets Belgium, Cameroon meets Korea Republic, and Italy meets Honduras. So from the first day the tournament will be in top gear. I think teams will follow the attacking football seen in Euro 2008. Argentina , Brazil and Nigeria will lead the pack for attacking football.

FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2008: Curtain Raiser - 1

The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2008 will be held in Marseille between 17 and 27 July. France is holding the tournament for the first time. This is an annual tournament started in 1995. Brazil won the tournament 11 times. All the previous tournament were held in Brazil. In 2005 beach soccer became a part of the FIFA family. The first-ever FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was staged on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro which was won by France.

Portugal is the first country to win cup other than Brazil in 2001. France won the tournament in 2005. Another interesting statistics was that Brazil never lost a final match. In 2001 and 2005 they failed to qualify for the finals. Uruguay finished runner up thrice.

Sixteen teams have qualified for this year tournament. The qualifiers are:

Africa (2 teams) Cameroon and Senegal
Asia (3 teams) Iran, Japan, and United Arab Emirates
Europe (5 teams) France, Italy, Spain. Portugal, and Russia
North and Central America (2 teams) EL Salvador and Mexico
Oceania ( 1 team) Solomon Islands
South America (3 teams) Argentina, Brazil , UruguayUruguay

The teams were divided into four groups. Group D is the group of death. 11 times Brazil will play European champion Spain, last year runners up Mexico and 2005 fourth place holder Japan. Spain was runner up in 2003 and 2004. Brazil and Spain should qualify from this group.

Group C consist of Argentina, Cameroon, Russia, and United Arab Emirates. This is relatively easy group. Argentina and Cameroon should qualify.

Group B consist of Portugal, Italy, El Salvador, and Solomon Islands. Portugal and Italy should qualify.

Group A consist of France, Uruguay, Senegal, and Iran. France and Uruguay should qualify.

The favorites of the tournament are Brazil, Spain, Portugal, and France……………..