2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
| Coupe du monde de football de plage 2008 | |
|---|---|
 The official logo of the 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | France |
| Dates | 17–27 July 2008 |
| Teams | 16 (from 6 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |
 Brazil (12th title) |
| Runners-up |
 Italy |
| Third place |
 Portugal |
| Fourth place |
 Spain |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 32 |
| Goals scored | 258 (8.06 per match) |
| Attendance | 176,500 (5,516 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
Madjer (13 goals) |
| Best player |
Amarelle |
| Best goalkeeper |
Roberto Valeiro |
| Fair play award |
 Russia |
The 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, governed by FIFA. Previous editions before 2005 were not governed by FIFA and were held under the title Beach Soccer World Championships. Overall, this was the fourteenth edition of the World Cup since its establishment in 1995. It took place in Marseille, France, in the Plages du Prado. It was the first tournament to take place outside Brazil, from 17–27 July 2008. The winners of the tournament were Brazil, who won their third consecutive FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup title and their twelfth title overall.
Qualifying rounds
Africa
The qualifiers to determine the two African nations who would play in the World Cup took place in Durban, South Africa for the third year running between March 25 and March 30. Eight nations took part in the competition, all of whom participated in the 2007 Championship, which eventually saw Senegal claim their first title, qualifying for the second successive World Cup and which saw Cameroon finish in second place, also qualifying for the second time.
Asia
The Asian qualifiers took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for the third time, between May 6 and May 10. The hosts, the United Arab Emirates qualified for the second time after beating Japan in the final of the championship, 4-3, for the second consecutive year. Iran beat China in the third place play off to claim the third berth at the World Cup for the third year in a row.
Europe
For the first time since the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifiers began in 2006, due to the large interest of European nations in beach soccer, UEFA held a tournament dedicated to World Cup qualification in Benidorm, Spain, between, May 11 and May 18, instead of allowing European nations to qualify to the World Cup through the Euro Beach Soccer League. Hosts Spain won the championship, with neighbours Portugal finishing second. Russia beat Italy in the third place play off, but regardless of the result, both teams qualified to the World Cup, along with the finalists.
North, Central American and Caribbean Zone
The North, Central America and the Caribbean Zone qualifiers took place between April 17 and April 19 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Mexico and El Salvador were the two finalists, meaning they both qualified for the World Cup; Mexico for the second time and El Salvador for the first. Mexico defeated El Salvador in the final to win their first title.
South America
The South American qualifiers took place between April 23 and April 27, in the Argentinean capital, Buenos Aires. Brazil and hosts Argentina were the two finalists, meaning they both qualified for the World Cup. Brazil defeated Argentina in the final to win the title. Uruguay and Venezuela were knocked out in the semi finals and played each other in the third place play off. Uruguay beat Venezuela to claim the third berth at the World Cup.
Oceania
For the first and to date only time, no Oceanian qualifiers were held. The Oceania Football Confederation nominated the Solomon Islands as their representative in the World Cup, based on their results over the past two years, which showed that they were by far the strongest team in the confederation.
Hosts
France qualified automatically as the hosts.
Teams
These are the teams that qualified to the World Cup:
|
Asian zone: African zone: European zone: |
North, Central American and Caribbean zone: Oceanian zone: South American zone: Hosts: |
Players
Venue
A stadium on the Plage du Prado in southern Marseille was used known as the Stade du Prado or the Stadium of the Beach in English. The stadium hosted all 32 matches.
| Marseille |
2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (France) | |
|---|---|---|
| Stade du Prado | ||
| 43°15′N 5°22′E / 43.250°N 5.367°E | ||
| Capacity: 7,000 | ||
 | ||
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 Marsielle, (UTC+1)
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | W+ | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 France |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 14 | 1 | 5 |
 Uruguay |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 5 |
 Senegal |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 5 |
 Iran |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 16 | -8 | 0 |
- Note: France, Uruguay and Senegal were involved in a tie-break situation and therefore their matches against Iran were ignored and the nations were ranked by their goal difference in the matches against each other. Despite France having the worst overall goal difference, they had the best goal difference between the three teams involved in the tie-break and therefore finished in first place. Uruguay, with an equal number of goals scored and conceded, against France and Senegal finished second, and Senegal with a negative goal difference of -1, finished third.
17 July 2008 16:15 |
| Uruguay |
6 – 1 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
Ricar  2', 7', 21'Martinez 5'Parrillo 27'Fabian 30' |
Report | 19' Davoudi |
17 July 2008 19:15 |
| France |
5 – 5 (a.e.t) (1 – 2 Pens) |
Senegal |
|---|---|---|
| Samoun 15', 35' Basquaise 20'François 27'Pérez 32' |
Report | 1', 31' Koukpaki 11' Mbengue 12' Dieng 16' Sylla |
| Penalties | ||
Basquaise  François  |
1 – 2 | Mbengue Ndour |
19 July 2008 14:45 |
| Senegal |
7 – 8 (a.e.t) |
Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Koukpaki 14', 15', 26', 38' Sarr 19'Mbengue 29'Diagne 30' |
Report | 3', 28' Martin 11' Parrillo 22' Miguel 26' Ricar 35', 37' Matias 37' Pampero |
19 July 2008 19:15 |
| Iran |
6 – 6 (a.e.t) (1 – 2 Pens) |
France |
|---|---|---|
| Naderi 6', 36' Abdollahi 18'Mesigar 22', 24'Davoudi 31' |
Report | 9' (o.g.) Rahimi 10', 11', 13', 37' Basquaise 13' Ottavy |
| Penalties | ||
| Dara Davoudi |
1 – 2 | François Pérez |
21 July 2008 17:45 |
| France |
4 – 3 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Samoun 8', 10' Basquaise 19', 27' |
Report | 26' Ricar 33' Parrillo 35' Oli |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | W+ | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 10 | 16 | 8 |
| Italy |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 6 |
 Solomon Islands |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 23 | -9 | 3 |
 El Salvador |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 18 | -12 | 0 |
17 July 2008 14:45 |
| Italy |
7 – 4 | Solomon Islands |
|---|---|---|
| Palmacci 1' Feudi 2'Corosiniti 7', 24'Soria 11'Pasquali 16'Condorelli 16' |
Report | 2' Naka 14', 16' Hosea 23' Muri |
17 July 2008 17:45 |
| Portugal |
8 – 2 | El Salvador |
|---|---|---|
| Alan 1' Madjer 13', 17'Hernani 14'Sousa 15'Torres 21'Belchior 32', 35' |
Report | 6' Ruiz 6' Blanco |
19 July 2008 16:15 |
| Solomon Islands |
4 – 13 | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Naka 13', 16', 27' Nee 31' |
Report | 2', 15', 16', 17', 24' Madjer 4', 4', 16', 29' Alan 4' (o.g.) Omokirio 7', 23', 33', Belchior |
19 July 2008 17:45 |
| El Salvador |
1 – 4 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
| Hernandez 26' |
Report | 5' Pasquali 17', 20' Palmacci 24' Feudi |
21 July 2008 14:45 |
| Portugal |
5 – 4 (a.e.t) |
Italy |
|---|---|---|
| Belchior 6', 9', 38' Alan 8'Madjer 32' |
Report | 18' Esposito 22' Diego Maradona Jr 24' Soria 28' Platania |
21 July 2008 16:15 |
| El Salvador |
3 – 6 | Solomon Islands |
|---|---|---|
| Ruiz 13' Ramirez 24'Hernandez 28' |
Report | 5', 13', 16', 23' Naka 28', 35' Omo |
Group C
| Team | Pld | W | W+ | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 9 |
| Russia |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
 United Arab Emirates |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 3 |
 Cameroon |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 17 | -13 | 0 |
18 July 2008 14:45 |
| Russia |
3 – 5 | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| Leonov 7' Shaykov 26'Shishin 27' |
Report | 12' E.Hilaire 16', 30', 35' F.Hilaire 28' Minici |
18 July 2008 14:45 |
| United Arab Emirates |
10 – 4 | Cameroon |
|---|---|---|
| Alabadla 1', 17', 19' Almazam 18'Eyoum 19' (o.g.)Al Mesaabi 27', 32'K.Albalooshi 27'Albloushi 28'I.Albalooshi 28' |
Report | 1' Yombi 8', 18' Etame 20' Yopa |
20 July 2008 16:15 |
| Argentina |
5 – 2 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| S.Hilaire 5' Leguizamon 20', 33'F.Hilaire 18', 29' |
Report | 10' Al Mesaabi 33' I.Albalooshi |
20 July 2008 17:45 |
| Cameroon |
0 – 4 | Russia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | 8' (o.g.) Yombi 11' Khmara 20' Makarov 35' Shakmelyan |
22 July 2008 14:45 |
| United Arab Emirates |
0 – 5 | Russia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | 6' Makarov 6', 26' Shaykov 23' Shishin 27' Gorchinskiy |
Group D
| Team | Pld | W | W+ | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 14 | 9 |
| Spain |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
 Mexico |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 12 | -6 | 3 |
 Japan |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 18 | -13 | 0 |
18 July 2008 16:15 |
| Mexico |
4 – 3 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Santoyo 24' Villalobos 24', 30'Flores 28' |
Report | 1' Yoshii 24' Tabata 26' Uehara |
20 July 2008 19:15 |
| Japan |
1 – 8 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Makino 23' |
Report | 4', 17' Júnior Negrão 12' Buru 15' Betinho 16' Benjamin 23' Bruno 31' Daniel 34' (o.g.) Yoshii |
22 July 2008 17:45 |
| Spain |
6 – 1 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Amarelle 15', 19', 26' C.Torres 15'Nico 20'Alvarez 33' |
Report | 16' Uehara |
22 July 2008 16:15 |
| Brazil |
7 – 1 | Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Benjamin 1', 19', 33' Andre 7'Bruno 23'Bueno 29'Betinho 32' |
Report | 20' Alvarado |
Knockout stage
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 24 July 2008 | ||||||||||
| France |
2 | |||||||||
| 26 July 2008 | ||||||||||
| Italy |
5 | |||||||||
| Italy (pens) |
4 (1) | |||||||||
| 24 July 2008 | ||||||||||
| Spain |
4 (0) | |||||||||
| Argentina |
0 | |||||||||
| 27 July 2008 | ||||||||||
| Spain |
2 | |||||||||
| Italy |
3 | |||||||||
| 24 July 2008 | ||||||||||
| Brazil |
5 | |||||||||
| Portugal |
6 | |||||||||
| 26 July 2008 | ||||||||||
| Uruguay |
3 | |||||||||
| Portugal |
4 | Third place | ||||||||
| 24 July 2008 | ||||||||||
| Brazil |
5 | |||||||||
| Brazil |
6 | Spain |
4 | |||||||
| Russia |
4 | Portugal |
5 | |||||||
| 27 July 2008 | ||||||||||
Quarter finals
24 July 2008 19:15 |
| France |
2 – 5 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
| Samoun 22' François 32' |
Report | 1' Esposito 1', 10' Feudi 22' Condorelli 22' Palmacci |
24 July 2008 14:45 |
| Portugal |
6 – 3 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Belchior 7', 29' Sousa 10'Madjer 14'Bilro 25'Coco 28' (o.g.) |
Report | 14', 31' Fabian 23' Martin |
24 July 2008 17:45 |
| Brazil |
6 – 4 | Russia |
|---|---|---|
| Buru 4' Bruno 10'Daniel 18', 27', 29'Benjamin 33' |
Report | 3', 30' Shaykov 4' Shishin 17' Leonov |
Semi finals
26 July 2008 19:00 |
| Italy |
4 – 4 (a.e.t) (1 – 0 Pens) |
Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Esposito 4' Feudi 5'Pasquali 24', 34' |
Report | 2', 34' Amarelle 12' Alvarez 23' J.Torres |
| Penalties | ||
| Esposito |
1 – 0 | Amarelle |
26 July 2008 17:30 |
| Portugal |
4 – 5 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Madjer 12' Belchior 16'Torres 23'Alan 25' |
Report | 10', 24', 28' Andre 16' Benjamin 34' Bruno |
Third place play off
27 July 2008 17:30 |
| Spain |
4 – 5 | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Amarelle 7', 23', 25' Nico 34' |
Report | 2', 25', 27' Madjer 12' Bilro 29' Torres |
Final
27 July 2008 19:00 |
| Italy |
3 – 5 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Palmacci 29' Pasquali 33'Diego Maradona Jr 34' |
Report | 8', 14' Bruno 21', 23' Sydney 28' Andre |
Winners
| 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Winners |
|---|
Brazil Third (12th overall) title |
Awards
| Golden Ball | Silver Ball | Bronze Ball | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amarelle |
Benjamin |
Belchior | |||
| Golden Shoe | Silver Shoe | Bronze Shoe | |||
| Madjer |
Amarelle |
Belchior | |||
| 13 goals | 11 goals | 10 goals | |||
| Golden Glove | |||||
| Roberto Valerio | |||||
| FIFA Fair Play Award | |||||
| Russia | |||||
Top scorers
|
|
|
Final standings
| Position | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil |
| 2 | Italy |
| 3 | Portugal |
| 4 | Spain |
| 5 | Argentina |
| 6 | Russia |
| 7 | Uruguay |
| 8 | France |
| 9 | Senegal |
| 10 | United Arab Emirates |
| 11 | Mexico |
| 12 | Solomon Islands |
| 13 | Iran |
| 14 | El Salvador |
| 15 | Japan |
| 16 | Cameroon |