FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifier Europe groups decided

The European Qualifier will take place in Nazaré, Portugal from 17 – 27 June

Europe’s national beach soccer teams now know their group rivals for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifier Europe, which will run from 17 – 27 June and be held in Nazaré Portugal.

The Preliminary Round will be played from 17 – 19 June, and the top five teams will qualify to the Main Round, which will be played from 21 – 27 June.

Overseeing the draw was Beach Soccer Worldwide’s Director of Competitions Ricardo Garcia and Vice-President Gabino Renales.

The first draw was for the Preliminary Round, where the 10 teams vying for the five places in the Main Round were organised into the following groups:

Group A

• Czech Republic

• Norway

• Moldova

Group B

• England

• Romania

• Estonia

• Sweden 

Group C

• Kazakhstan 

• Lithuania

• Denmark 

Czech Republic, England and Kazakhstan were the first seeded teams as the highest-ranked of the nations participating in the Preliminary Round, according to the BSWW World Ranking. 

Two groups of three were drawn, and debuting Sweden were drawn into Group B, along with England, Romania and Estonia. 

After that, came the draw for the Main Round, where the groups were organised as follows: 

Group A

• Portugal

• Turkey

• Ukraine

• Preliminary Round Team 2

Group B

• Italy 

• Germany

• Preliminary Round Team 1

• Preliminary Round Team 3 

Group C 

• Spain

• Belarus

• Poland 

• Preliminary Round Team 4 

Group D

• Switzerland

• France

• Azerbaijan

• Preliminary Round Team 5

Portugal, Italy, Spain and Switzerland, as the highest-ranked European nations in the BSWW World Ranking, occupy the first seeds in each group (A1, B1, C1 and D1).

The current World Champions Portugal were drawn alongside Turkey, Ukraine and a team that will qualify through the Preliminary Round, while the runners-up of the 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, Italy, will take on Germany, and two sides from the Preliminary Round.

The event will take place in Nazaré, Portugal, from 17 – 27 June. Here is a reminder of the competition calendar: 

17-19 June: Preliminary phase

20 June: Rest day

21-23: Group stage

24 June: Playoffs for 9th-16th place

25 June: Quarter-finals & playoffs for 9th-16th place

26 June: Semi-finals & Playoffs for 5th-8th place

27 June: Final & Playoffs for 3rd-8th place