The Superfinal inches closer and the current standings show that almost nothing is set in stone
There have been three exciting stages of the Euro Beach Soccer League 2014 season and there is one more yet to come. The final group stage for the season will be in Siofok, Hungary from the 8th-10th of August. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, there are still options open to book tickets to the Superfinal from the 14th-17th of August, and the seeding is still very much in doubt.
There is certainty about a few things and here they are as follows. Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Italy, Belarus, and Germany have qualified. Greece, the Netherlands, and Poland cannot make it to the Superfinal. Poland, after a very surprising two lackluster stages, will be participating in a post season tournament but not the Superfinal, they will be in the Promotion final. The winner of the Promotion Final will either be promoted to Division A, if they are currently in Division B, or in Poland´s case, will remain in Division A.
The team with the most to gain is Ukraine, who can move into the Superfinal, or miss out on the postseason altogether, depending on their performance in the last group stage. They have already won two matches, yielding them only four points though, due to the solitary point that is awarded in a penalty shoot-out victory. France has the most to lose and the anticipation will be out of this world as they have no matches left and will have to depend on the outcomes of the Ukrainian games. France has to hope that Ukraine does not win a match, which would leave them in the 8th and final spot. Portugal, Italy, Germany, and Ukraine will be jostling with each other in Hungary and are the only Division A teams with matches still left, three for each of them.
Where no one is safe is in the final seeds. France can only stay in the 8th and final spot but if Ukraine wins one match, they could eliminate the French from Superfinal Contention. Germany can fall to the last position, currently held by France, or they could jump all the way to the number one overall seed with three wins. Portugal can also make the leap to first with a strong performance in Siofok. Italy can attain first place or could drop to 8th if they are not careful. The seeding will determine who the top teams play in the Superfinal and it is very important so every team will be monitoring the event and seeing who scores and how many, as in case of a tie in points, goal differential will be the tiebreaker.
1. SWITZERLAND, 12 points. Goal differential: +12
2. SPAIN, 12 points. Goal differential: +5
3. PORTUGAL, 9 points. Goal differential: +12 (3 games remaining)
4. RUSSIA, 9 points. Goal differential: +10
5. ITALY, 9 points. Goal differential: +6 (3 games remaining)
6. BELARUS, 9 points. Goal differential: -2
7. GERMANY, 6 points. Goal differential: +4 (3 games remaining)
8. FRANCE, 6 points. Goal differential: -5
9. GREECE, 5 points. Goal differential: -17
10. UKRAINE, 4 points. Goal differential: +2 (3 games remaining)
11. NETHERLANDS, 3 points. Goal differential: -13
12. POLAND, 3 points. Goal differential: -14
