The tenth World Futsal Championship in history will start in Uzbekistan on September 14 (now minifootball in Russia is officially called that too). The tournament will be held for the first time in Central Asia; matches will be held in Andijan, Bukhara and Tashkent. The Russian team, unfortunately, did not have a chance to qualify for the championship, but even without it there will be something and someone to follow. The “Championship” collected the main intrigues.
Will anyone stop Portugal?
As reigning champions, the Portuguese national team, the dominant power in world futsal in recent years, traveled to Uzbekistan. While Sporting and Benfica are constantly fighting for the title of the strongest club team in Europe, the national team crushes its rivals: the Portuguese won the last two European Championships and in 2022 won the Finalissima, a tournament where the two best teams from Europe and America played. At the moment, there is no reason to believe that the Portuguese will put on the brakes abruptly, although we remember: the dominance of the big teams often ends unexpectedly and abruptly.
“Fortunately for futsal, there are a lot of quality teams in the world right now,” Pani Varela, one of the leaders of the Portuguese national team, told FIFA’s official website. “We will definitely see matches at the highest level. There are more and more surprises at major tournaments, which is good for the sport. I think there may be even more than usual at this World Championship. But instead of thinking about how many teams can compete for the title, I prefer to focus on giving my best so that Portugal can succeed.”
2024 Futsal World Cup Groups
Group A: Uzbekistan, Netherlands, Paraguay, Costa Rica
Group B: Brazil, Cuba, Croatia, Thailand
Group C: Argentina, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Angola
Group D: Spain, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Libya
Group E: Portugal (defending champion), Panama, Tajikistan, Morocco
Group F: Iran, Venezuela, Guatemala, France
Since Varela doesn’t want to name his opponents, let’s say it for him. Traditionally, the Portuguese’s main competitors include the world runners-up Argentina and the Brazilian national team. “I’m very confident,” says the former Tyumen player, one of the leaders of the Brazilians Ferrao. “The preparation went very well, everyone is fully focused on getting back to the top. We can’t let this title slip away from us again!”
Questions about the newly powerful Spanish national team: can it return to its previous level in the context of a long generational change? Iran, Paraguay and Morocco could act as dark horses.
How will foreign players perform in the Russian Super League?
There is not much contact with representatives of the Russian championship. In fact, these are two goalkeepers of the Brazilian national team: Willian Dorn of Norilsk Nickel and Thiago Gitta of Ukhta. The second one had an unpleasant story, after which it is perhaps no longer worth calling him an ambassador of the Super League. After winning silver medals at the end of the previous season, Gitta suddenly decided that he no longer wanted to play in Ukhta, despite the fact that his contract was valid for two more years.
Instead of preparing for the season with the Ukhta team, Gitta immediately went to the national team headquarters, unlike Dorn. As a result, the Ukhta goalkeeper now finds himself without match practice and with poor preparation; let’s see how this will affect him in the tournament and what will happen to the future of his club.
Kazakh Albert Akbalikov could have represented Gazprom-Yugra in the current tournament, but after a loan spell at the Ugra club he returned to Kairat. Also among our “formers” at the 2024 World Cup are the aforementioned Brazilian Ferrao, his compatriot Marcenio, Kazakhs Douglas and Valiullin, Tajikistan’s Yorov and Iran’s Tayebi.
How the last season of Russian futsal ended:
Gazprom-Yugra won the title in a thriller. Everything was decided again in a penalty shootout!
How good is “disgraced” Kazakhstan?
When we talk about the tournament favourites, we do not include the Kazakhstan national team among them, although in 2021 the team took fourth place. How can this be, especially considering that the famous coach Kaka is there? It is about toughening the position of UEFA and FIFA on the playing of naturalised foreign players in national teams. International federations now ensure that only futsal players who have lived in their new sporting homeland for at least five years without a break play in national teams – the quick issuance of a passport will no longer help.
Due to the new order, Kazakhstan will be left at the World Cup without two leaders: Tynan and Edson. This is a big blow and it is difficult to say how prepared the three remaining Brazilians, as well as the local players, are for the new challenge. However, if Kazakhstan manages to get through and reach the semi-finals again or at least the quarter-finals, this can only be applauded. There are chances.
Russia and Ukraine met at the 2022 European Championship. This will not happen now:
Video
This is the outcome! The Russian national team’s goalkeeper saved a penalty from Ukraine at the end
What about other teams from the former USSR?
In addition to Kazakhstan, there were several other teams from the post-Soviet space among the 24 participants in the tournament. The most famous of them is Ukraine, which took fourth place at the 1996 World Cup and two silver medals at the European Championships. The recent results of the Ukrainians are contradictory: at the 2022 European Championships they finished fourth, but did not qualify for the final tournament. Nevertheless, the team managed to reach the quarter-finals.
The host of the tournament, the national team of Uzbekistan, is participating in the World Cup for the third time. In 2021, the Uzbek national team reached the round of 16. It is realistic to repeat this, although the favorite in their group is Paraguay, and the much-improved Netherlands will try to knock the hosts out of the playoffs.
Finally, the Tajik national team will make its debut at the World Championship. This year, the Tajiks took fourth place at the Asian Championship and their team is clearly on the rise. However, in the same group were Portugal and Morocco, who performed very well at the last World Cup; in such a situation, reaching the playoffs would be a feat. That is what we wish for Tajikistan.
What a scandal in futsal! What really happened in the Portuguese championship?
MY GOD
“Woe to those who celebrate such things!” The 60-0 defeat sparked a scandal in mini-football
