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MY BEACH SOCCER 
The sun sets on the final training sessions ahead of the Huawei Intercontinental Cup 2018
With just one day left until the Huawei Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup Dubai 2018, the finishing touches are being added and an annual tradition takes place in the build-up to the competition…
The tournament officially kicks off tomorrow at 16:15 local time, at Dubai’s pristine Kite Beach. The opening match sees Joaquin Alonso’s Spain (debutants in the Intercontinental Cup) take on the defending champions, Gilberto’s Brazil.
Both coaches are up for Best Coach of the Year and on top of that, all three nominees in the race for Best Player of the Year will play in the tournament’s first match: Llorenç with Spain, and Bruno Xavier and Datinha with Brazil. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough world class beach soccer ability in one team, Brazil’s keeper, Mão is also up for Best Goalkeeper of the Year.
Needless to say, with so much quality on and off the pitch, this game will be a spectacle not to be missed.
Perhaps Brazil, having won the Intercontinental Cup three times in total, including the previous two years, go into the tournament as many people’s favourites, but the other teams have other ideas…
Iran’s keeper, Hosseini, made his team’s intentions very clear. “We come to Dubai with the clear objective of winning the cup”. It wouldn’t be Iran’s first victory here, as the Persians walked away from the 2013 edition with the trophy. Can they repeat the same success this year?
But the hosts, UAE, claim that “this year [they] are stronger than ever”, according to their captain Walid.
And Russian skipper, Anton Shkarin also had words of steely confidence ahead of the tournament commencing. “We are not scared of any team we meet.”
One thing is clear, this will be an extremely competitive set of showdowns.
Amongst the final preparations, there was time to fulfil an annual tradition whereby the journalists of Dubai Sports Council kick off their shoes to try out some skills on the sand, taking on other media personnel in the yearly “Media Match”.
After a close-fought contest, Dubai Sports Council edged their opponents in the friendly match, and everyone left the pitch with arms around each other, laughing and exhausted… time to sit back, relax and watch the pros show how it’s done.
Remember that you can watch all of the games in the Huawei Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup Dubai 2018 live and free at https://beachsoccer.com/schedule.
You can also keep up with all the fixtures, results and standing right here.
