4 Groups, 16 Teams and all going at it in Italy! The hosts head up Group A with Iran, Senegal, and Switzerland also in the ranks. Group B meanwhile involves the likes of Argentina, El Salvador, Oman, and Portugal which should be a heavily contested group to say the least. Nigeria, Russia, Tahiti, and Venezuela make up Group C. Last but not least we have Group D which has the fierce Brazilians, the fighting Japanese, the formidable Mexicans, and the not to be underestimated Ukrainians. How about a closer look at each of the teams?
Well the hosts Italy qualified automatically but they still took part in the UEFA qualifying tournament just to get a feel for things. They were knocked out by Poland in the Round of 16 but still have to be counted as one of the favorites. Iran meanwhile have made it to the tournament through finishing third in the AFC Asian Beach Soccer Championship. They were only defeated on penalties by the hosts Oman after an undefeated run up until that point. They defeated the U.A.E. to make sure they made it to the World Cup. Of the African delegates, Senegal are definitely the ones to look out for after they outscored an impressive Nigeria 7-4 in the Final of the African qualifying tournament in Morocco. Last but not least we have the Swiss who are incredibly close-knit and talented. It's true that they punch above their weight and frequently lose when it comes down to the Final. During the build up to this tournament though, they were rather upset on penalties by Ukraine during the qualifying tournament in the semi-finals before coming off second-best to the mighty Russia in the match for third place. Moving on to the Teams of Group B I'll start with Argentina. The South Americans managed to defeat their neighbors Uruguay (a notable absentee in this World Cup) before edging a spunky Venezuelan side to face Brazil in the Final. As so often happens in Beach soccer, Brazil won. El Salvador have a young side that is full of energy. While they were only defeated by Mexico in the build up to the World Cup, the Central Americans will just hope to register a couple of points. Anything more will just be icing on the cake. Oman are in a similar boat after surprising in the Asian qualifying campaign. They were only held by the Japanese who took the continental glory. Will they challenge for the world title though? Wrapping up Group B we have Portugal who combine talent and experience to devastating effect. They were European Champions in 2010 and runners-up in qualifying in Europe. We'll have to see if the Portuguese can shine just as much or even more on the World stage! Onwards to Group C! Nigeria were only defeated by the high-flying Senegalese in qualifying and should be kept an eye on. Russia were a juggernaut in European qualifying, falling to Portugal in the Semi-final but claiming their World Cup spot nonetheless. Tahiti managed to grab the OFC World Cup spot after exhibiting a unity and spirit that left the Solomon Islands asking what the heck had just happened. Finally we have Venezuela who have blended both veterans and new faces into a fierce machine. They got to the 3rd-place match which they proceeded to win from Colombia (who were also giant-slayers) 5-2. In closing this post I'll look at the Group D teams! Brazil are obviously the team expected to win the World title as they have scored 215 goals in 29 Beach Soccer World Cup matches. They have never lost in normal or extra-time, only in penalties to Portugal 6 years ago. Their qualifying record says it all really: 14-1 against Paraguay, 13-1 against Peru, 10-4 to Chile, 7-0 v.s. Venezuela, and 6-2 wins against both Colombia and Argentina in the Semi-final and Final respectively. We'll have to see if anyone can compete against the South American super-giants. Japan obviously hope to as they are the lead Asian banner-bearers. Mexico meanwhile are the CONCACAF Champions and so will also have large expectations. Last but not least we have the Ukraine who totally out-played their European competition in qualifying. Group D is definitely the Group to look at if you want a ton of action as the Champions of UEFA, CONCACAF, the AFC, and CONMEBOL are all present and accounted for. Enjoy!
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