Draw lines up hosts Paraguay against Japan in opener

The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Paraguay 2019 official draw distributes the 16 teams in four groups

The 16 participating nations at the upcoming FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Paraguay 2019 now know what their group stage journeys will look like, following Friday’s final draw at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Asuncion.

Drawn into Group A, the hosts will play Japan in their tournament opener at 21:00 local time on Thursday 21 November. Switzerland and USA are the other two sides in the group.

Five-time competition winners Brazil kick off their campaign a day later against Oman.

Runners-up at the last two world finals, the ever-entertaining Tahiti will kick off against Italy, while two-time world champions Russia will do likewise against Senegal.

The final configuration of the groups goes as follows:

Group A: Paraguay, Japan, Switzerland and USA

Group B: Uruguay, Mexico, Italy and Tahiti

Group C: Belarus, UAE, Senegal and Russia

Group D: Brazil, Oman, Portugal and Nigeria

What they said

“Given the standard of the 16 teams and how the draw has panned out, it’s sure to be a spectacular tournament. Paraguay’s first FIFA World Cup will be an exciting one and we invite you not to miss it.”

Jaime Yarza, FIFA Head of Tournaments and draw host

“We are breaking a paradigm here. For the first time in the history of the Beach Soccer World Cup, the tournament will be hosted in a landlocked country, sending a message loud and clear to the world: beach soccer can be played in every corner of the planet.”

Robert Harrison, President of the Paraguayan Football Association (APF)

“Since we began our way, with our dreams and objectives, we made football our priority. And having a World Cup in el Paraguay was a dream that we see come true today, thanks to APF president Robert Harrison’s effort and FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s support”.

Alejandro Domínguez, president of CONMEBOL

Source: FIFA.com