2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup

Major changes to format

After the 2005 World Cup, beach soccer continued to grow and spread worldwide at a fast rate. Therefore, FIFA established the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifiers, to try to allow more nations to play in the World Cup, as well as getting more national teams involved in the sport. FIFA also increased the number of participating teams in the World Cup from 12 to a record-high 16 teams. This also meant that nations would no longer be invited to play in the World Cup but would have to qualify.

With the establishment of the qualifying rounds, FIFA decided to standardise each World Cup, meaning that from this World Cup onwards, each confederation would have the same number of teams participating in each World Cup and that the 16 teams would be split up into four groups of four teams, with the top two teams moving on to the quarter-finals.

Qualifying rounds

African zone

Main article: 2006 CAF Beach Soccer Championship

African nations were allocated 2 berths at the World Cup. The championship took place between September 28 and September 30, 2006. Cameroon and Nigeria were the two finalists, meaning they both qualified for the World Cup. Cameroon defeated Nigeria in the final to win the title.

Asian zone

Main article: 2006 AFC Beach Soccer Championship

Asian nations were allocated 3 berths at the World Cup. The championship took place between May 22 and May 26, 2006. Bahrain and Japan were the two finalists, meaning they both qualified for the World Cup. Bahrain defeated Japan in the final to win the title. Iran and China were knocked out in the semi-finals and played each other in the third place play off. Iran beat China to claim the third berth at the World Cup.

European zone

Main article: 2006 Euro Beach Soccer League, 2006 Euro Beach Soccer League – Last chance bracket

European nations were allocated 5 berths at the World Cup. Instead of having a specific tournament for World Cup qualification, qualification was achieved through the 2006 Euro Beach Soccer League which took place earlier in the year. The nations who made it to the second stage of the Superfinal qualified to the World Cup being Spain, Portugal, Poland and Italy. To decide who would claim the fifth berth, the defeated nations in the competition came back to play in a straight knockout tournament, with the winner progressing to the World Cup. The nation which won the tournament was France who beat Switzerland in the final.

North, Central American and Caribbean zone

Main article: 2006 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship

North, Central American and Caribbean nations were allocated 2 berths at the World Cup. The championship took place between September 13 and September 17, 2006. The United States and Canada were the two finalists, meaning they both qualified for the World Cup. The United States defeated Canada in the final to win the title.

Oceanian zone

Main article: 2006 OFC Beach Soccer Championship

Oceanian nations were allocated 1 berth at the World Cup. The championship took place between August 31 and September 3, 2006. The Solomon Islands and Vanuatu were the two finalists. The Solomon Islands defeated Vanuatu in the final to win the title and qualify for the World Cup.

South American zone

Main article: 2006 CONMEBOL Beach Soccer Championship

South American nations were allocated 3 berths at the World Cup. The championship took place between March 5 and March 12, 2006. Brazil and Uruguay were the two finalists, meaning they both qualified for the World Cup. Brazil defeated Uruguay in the final to win the title. Argentina and Venezuela were knocked out in the semi-finals and played each other in the third place play off. Argentina beat Venezuela to claim the third berth at the World Cup.

Teams

These are the teams that qualified for the World Cup: Asian zone:

• (first appearance)
• (first appearance)

African zone:

• (first appearance)
• (first appearance)

European zone:

• (first appearance)

North, Central American and Caribbean zone:

Oceanian zone:

• (first appearance)

South American zone:

Venue

As with the previous FIFA editions of the World Cup held in Rio, the tournament once again took place at the Copacabana Beach Soccer Arena.

Group stage

The 16 teams present at the finals in Brazil were split into 4 groups of 4 teams. Each team played the other 3 teams in its group in a round-robin format, with the top two teams advancing to the quarter finals. The quarter finals, semi finals and the final itself was played in the form of a knockout tournament.

All matches are listed as local time in Rio de Janeiro, (UTC-3)

Group A

• Japan, Poland and the USA were tied on 3 points each, and one win against each other in their head-to-head records;
• The nations were then ranked based on Goal Difference in the matches between the three (Japan +1, Poland +1, USA -2);
• Finally, the next criterion was Goals For between Japan and Poland, in the matches between the three (Japan +13, and Poland +10), in which resulted on Japan taking the group's runner-up position. date = 2 November 2006 | time = 12:40 | team1 = | score = 4–8 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Xexeo Farberoff Morales Chimienti | goals2 = Yoshii Kuroki Kawaharazuka Maruo | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 6,000 | referee = Vincenzo Cascone (Italy)|}}

Betinho Buru Junior Negão André Saganowski

date = 5 November 2006 | time = 11:00 | team1 = | score = 10–2 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Buru Junior Negão
Bruno
Bueno | goals2 = Shiokawa Uehara | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 10,000 | referee = José Luis Da Rosa (Uruguay) |}}

date = 5 November 2006 | time = 12:20 | team1 = | score = 2–4 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Saganowski Żuk | goals2 = Chimienti Tanguinod Astorga Chimienti | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 6,000 | referee = Carlos Ferreira (Portugal) |}}

date = 7 November 2006 | time = 11:00 | team1 = | score = 10–6 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Junior Negão , Benjamin Bruno Buru Betinho | goals2 = Xexeo Astorga Taguinod| stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 10,000 | referee = Joao Almeida (Portugal) |}}

date = 7 November 2006 | time = 13:40 | team1 = | score = 8–5 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Saganowski Ziober Bartczak Polakowski | goals2 = Kawaharazuka Kuroki Toma | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 2,000 | referee = José Luis Da Rosa (Uruguay) |}}

Group B

date = 3 November 2006 | time = 12:20 | team1 = | score = 6–6 (a.e.t.)| report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Diaz Sibiya Yamada | goals2 = Ahmadzadeh Oostovari Dara Abdollahi | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 5,000 | referee = Joao Almeida (Portugal) |

date = 3 November 2006 | time = 13:40 | team1 = ESP Spain | score = 4–7 | report =Report | team2 = FRA France | goals1 = Amarelle Alfonso | goals2 = François Libbra Samoun Edouard Basquaise | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 5,000 | referee = José Luis Da Rosa (Uruguay) |}}

date = 5 November 2006 | time = 22:40 | team1 = | score = 8–1 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Castro Basquaise Perez François Sciortino | goals2 = Lemire | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 5,000 | referee = Renato De Carlos (Brazil) |}}

date = 5 November 2006 | time = 13:40 | team1 = | score = 1–6 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Razaeipoor | goals2 = Alfonso Johnny Nico Amarelle | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 5,000 | referee = Alberto Moreira (Brazil) |}}

date = 7 November 2006 | time = 18:40 | team1 = | score = 6–3 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Castro Sciortino Samoun Libbra Basquaise | goals2 = Hashempour Ahmadzadeh Dara | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 4,000 | referee = Joao Alberto Duarte (Brazil) |}}

date = 7 November 2006 | time = 17:20 | team1 = ESP Spain | score = 0–4 | report =Report | team2 = CAN Canada | goals1 = | goals2 = Selaidopoulos Sibiya Yamada | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 5,000 | referee = Ivo De Moraes (Brazil) |}}

Group C

date = 2 November 2006 | time = 17:00 | team1 = | score = 5–4 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Alan Madjer Hernâni | goals2 = Coco Cabrera Olivera Pampero | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 3,000 | referee = Joao Alberto Duarte (Brazil) |}}

Omokirio Eyoum

date = 4 November 2006 | time = 22:40 | team1 = | score = 10–5 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Coco Aguirre Fabian Pampero Damian Matias Parrillo Seba | goals2 = Koto Rogy Naka Omokirio | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 4,000 | referee = Antonio Buaiz (Brazil) |}}

date = 4 November 2006 | time = 12:20 | team1 = | score = 3–10 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Tamen | goals2 = Madjer Alan Marinho Gustavo | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 5,000 | referee = Juan Rodríguez (Argentina) |}}

date = 6 November 2006 | time = 11:00 | team1 = | score = 3–3 (a.e.t.) | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Ngiladjoe Bithe | goals2 = Pampero Miguel | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 1,300 | referee = Vincenzo Cascone (Italy) | Nyamsi Fabian

date = 6 November 2006 | time = 13:40 | team1 = | score = 2–14 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Anisua Luwi | goals2 = Madjer Marinho Alan Jorge Gustavo Hernâni Belchior Loja | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 800 | referee = Alberto Moreira (Brazil) |}}

Group D

date = 2 November 2006 | time = 22:40 | team1 = | score = 5–4 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = S. Hilaire F. Hilaire Minici | goals2 = Agu Onigbo Usman | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 3,000 | referee = Antonio Buaiz (Brazil) |}}

date = 2 November 2006 | time = 22:40 | team1 = | score = 2–4 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Pasquali | goals2 = Salem Hassan Alnisuf | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 5,000 | referee = Renato De Carlos (Brazil) |}}

date = 4 November 2006 | time = 11:40 | team1 = | score = 4–3 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Ibenegbu Olawale Onigbo | goals2 = El Hafez Pasquali | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 5,000 | referee = Joao Alberto Duarte (Brazil) |}}

date = 4 November 2006 | time = 13:40 | team1 = | score = 1–2 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Ebrahim | goals2 = E. Hilaire F. Hilaire | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 6,000 | referee = Christian Hauben (Belgium) |}}

date = 6 November 2006 | time = 22:40 | team1 = | score = 5–5 (a.e.t.) | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Salem Ebrahim Omar | goals2 = Olawale Ibenegbu Okemmiri Agu Okpara | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 800 | referee = Michele Conti (Italy) | Hassan Ebrahim Almughawi Olawale Onigbo Usman }}

date = 6 November 2006 | time = 12:20 | team1 = | score = 1–3 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Palmacci | goals2 = Andrade S. Hilaire | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 1,400 | referee = Antonio Buaiz (Brazil) |}}

Knockout stage

|9 November 2006||3||2 |9 November 2006||1||2 |9 November 2006||12||1 |9 November 2006||6||2 |11 November 2006| |2 (0)|** (pen.)**|2 (1) |11 November 2006||7||4 |12 November 2006||1||4 |12 November 2006|****|6||4

Quarter-finals

date = 9 November 2006 | time = 11:00 | team1 = | score = 12–1 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Júnior Negrão Benjamin Bueno Bruno Betinho | goals2 = Sibiya | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 10,000 | referee = Pedro Infantes (Venezuela) |}}

date = 9 November 2006 | time = 12:20 | team1 = | score = 6 – 2 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Alan Madjer Gustavo Belchior | goals2 = Omar Salem | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 6,000 | referee = Ivo De Moraes (Brazil) |}}

date = 9 November 2006 | time = 13:40 | team1 = | score = 2–1 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Ricar Miguel | goals2 = S. Hilaire | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 4,500 | referee = Joao Alberto Duarte (Brazil) |}}

date = 9 November 2006 | time = 22:40 | team1 = | score = 3–2 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Samoun Basquaise Edouard | goals2 = Toma Kuroki | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 6,000 | referee = Carlos Ferreira (Portugal) |}}

Semi-finals

date = 11 November 2006 | time = 11:00 | team1 = | score = 7–4 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Sidney Bueno Bruno Betinho | goals2 = Madjer Alan | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 10,000 | referee = Christian Hauben (Belgium) |}}

date = 11 November 2006 | time = 21:30 | team1 = | score = 2–2| aet = yes| report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Fabian | goals2 = Pérez Samoun| stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 10,000 | referee = Pendro Infantes (Venezuela) |

Third place play off

date = 12 November 2006 | time = 11:00 | team1 = | score = 4–6 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Alan Madjer | goals2 = Cardoso Ottavy Samoun Castro François | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 10,000 | referee = Antonio Buaiz (Brazil) |}}

Final

date = 12 November 2006 | time = 21:30 | team1 = | score = 4–1 | report =Report | team2 = | goals1 = Buru Benjamin Duda Sidney | goals2 = Ricar | stadium = Copacabana Beach | attendance = 10,000 | referee = Christian Hauben (Belgium) |}}

Winners

Awards

Top scorers

;21 goals

• POR Madjer ;12 goals
• BRA Benjamin ;10 goals
• BRA Bruno ;9 goals
• BRA Júnior Negão ;8 goals
• POR Alan ;7 goals
• POL Boguslaw Saganowski
• FRA Didier Samoun
• FRA Jeremy Basquaise ;6 goals
• CAN Sipho Sibiya
• BRA Betinho ;5 goals
• ESP Amarelle
• SOL James Naka
• BHR Rashed Salem
• JPN Takeshi Kawaharazuka
• URU Pampero ;4 goals
• USA Raphael Xexeo
• IRN Mohammad Ahmadzadeh
• ITA Roberto Pasquali ;4 goals (cont.)
• ARG Santiago Hilaire
• BRA Bueno
• URU Miguel
• BRA Sidney
• BRA Buru
• POR Gustavo ;3 goals
• BHR Abdulla Omar
• USA Benyam Astorga
• NGA Ifeanyi Onigbo
• NGA Isiaka Olawale
• CMR Medrano Tamen
• USA Mario Chimienti
• JPN Katsuhiro Yoshii
• JPN Masahito Toma
• JPN Naoyuki Kuroki
• POR Belchior
• URU Fabian
• FRA Laurent Castro
• POR Marinho
• FRA Sebastien Perez
• FRA Stéphane François ;2 goals
• POL Marek Zuk
• ESP Alfonso
• NGA Bartholomew Ibenegbu
• USA Brendon Taguinod
• CMR Etienne Ngiladjoe ;2 goals (cont.)
• IRN Faroogh Dara
• NGA Gabriel Agu
• SOL Henry Koto
• SOL Omo
• CMR Valery Bithe
• ESP Nico
• ARG Facundo Minici
• ARG Federico Andrade
• ARG Federico Hilaire
• CAN Kyle Yamada
• CAN Kyriakos Selaidopoulos
• BHR Adnan Ebrahim
• BRA Andre
• URU Coco
• POR Hernani
• FRA Jairzinho Cardoso
• FRA Jean-Marc Edouard
• FRA Marc Libbra
• URU Matias
• FRA Noel Sciortino
• URU Ricar ;35 others scored 1 goal each

Final standings