From February 15th-25th, the Beach Soccer World Cup was hosted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The tournament consisted of sixteen teams divided in four groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the knockout stage. The groups were the following:
- Group A – United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt (EGY), United States (USA), Italy (ITA)
- Group B – Spain (ESP), IR Iran (IRN), Tahiti (TAH), Argentina (ARG)
- Group C – Senegal (SEN), Belarus (BLR), Colombia (COL), Japan (JPN)
- Group D – Brazil (BRA), Oman (OMA), Portugal (POR), Mexico (MEX)
Italy won Group A pretty handily with a total of six points, and UAE tied with them for first. The United States earned an abysmal 0 points, earning last in their group and failing to qualify for the knockout stage. The result of Group B was the most surprising result in the tournament. Given both of their storied histories with the sport, Argentina and Spain were the heavy favorites to advance to the knockout stage, but there’s of course a first time for everything. Iran won the group with seven points, and Tahiti earned second place with six points after they managed to beat Spain 5-3 to secure their spot in the knockout stage.
Group C was also very surprising. Belarus earned the most points of any group-stage team, earning nine points to put them in first in their group (meaning they won every game they played). Japan earned second with six points, sending Senegal and Colombia home early. Lastly, Brazil and Portugal handled Group D pretty soundly, advancing to the knockout stage with relative ease.
The knockout stage for this tournament was really exciting. Belarus somehow managed to make a run to the semifinals, losing in a heartbreaking penalty shootout to Italy 3-3 (5-4). Brazil defeated Iran in the semis 3-2, advancing to their 7th all-time appearance in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup championship. Although 7 appearances doesn’t seem like that much, it’s worth noting that Brazil dominated the previous tournament, the Beach Soccer World Championships, winning 9 out of the 10 championships. Futebol de areia runs deep with the Brazilians.
This year’s championship between Brazil and Italy was a fast-paced, back-and-forth matchup. Both teams had well over 40 shots on goal, and both teams were relatively disciplined on defense. However, Italy’s defense proved to be no match for Brazil’s explosive offense, who completed 233 passes and scored multiple goals off of bicycle kicks. Brazil’s Rodrigo (shown right) proved to be what the squad needed to win, scoring a hat trick and earning the honor of Player of the Match. This win over Italy marked Brazil’s 6th championship in this iteration of the tournament, becoming the first international team to win six titles in either football, futsal, or beach soccer.
While the beach soccer championship is a huge milestone for the Brazilians, the young team still has much to prove. Veteran players like Rodrigo will soon be lost to retirement, and it’s going to take a lot to motivate this team to another world title. They’ve already failed to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, so Brazil will have to look towards the 2026 World Cup in North America to show the world what they’re all about.
