Full World Cup line up confirmed

Afghanistan have claimed the final place for the 10th Futsal World Cup which will take place between September 14th and October 6th in Uzbekistan.

By beating Kyrgyzstan 5-3 this Sunday during the Asian Cup, Afghanistan qualified for a major FIFA tournament for the first time (football, futsal, beach soccer) and will line up alongside France, Tajikistan and New Zealand as one of four first time participants next September.

Defending champions Portugal will be there, as will five times winners Brazil, two times winners Spain, 2016 winners Argentina and Morocco, recently crowned African champions.

The French team, placed tenth in the world rankings and recent winners against Brazil, will compete as a relative underdog in the tournament.

Among those who didn’t qualify are Russia, Japan and Italy. The draw for the finals will take place on Sunday May 26th in Samarkand. FIFA has not yet confirmed the organisation of the four pools which will determine seeding.

The 24 Qualifiers:

AFC: Uzbekistan (hosts), Iran, Thailand, Afghanistan, Tajikistan.

CAF: Morocco, Angola, Libya.

CONCACAF: Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Panama.

CONMEBOL: Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Venezuela.

OFC: New Zealand.

 UEFA: Kazakhstan, France, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, Croatia, Netherlands.