Four teams have qualified for the UEFA Play-Offs. These are Finland, Croatia, Poland, and the Netherlands. All four teams are credited with finishing as the four best group runners-up. Their advancement makes up for a place in the FIFA Futsal World Cup. The rankings of Poland, Croatia, Finland, and the Netherlands in UEFA are 6th, 9th, 10th, and 14th, respectively.
Croatia and Poland have only played in one edition of the tournament. Croatia appeared in 2000, while Poland’s appearance in the FIFA Futsal World Cup was marked in 1992. Finland is qualifying for the tournament for the first time. The Netherlands, however, stands out on the list since they won a silver at the first edition of the football tournament.
Play-offs are scheduled to happen in April 2024, with a draw on December 21, 2023. The 10th edition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup will be held in Uzbekistan from September 14, 2024, to October 06, 2024. Teams that qualified so far are France, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Spain, Portugal, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine.
According to the sports news, Poland, Croatia, Finland, and the Netherlands will now appear in the elite round play-off from April 8, 2024, to April 17, 2024. The Concacaf Futsal Championship will happen almost simultaneously from April 13, 2024, to April 20, 2024, in Managua, Nicaragua. Four tickets to Uzbekistan have been allotted to the group.
The venue for the AFC Futsal Asian Cup is yet to be decided. It will run from April 17, 2024, to April 28, 2024. Only four teams will move on to the next stage. The date for the CAF Futsal Africa Cup of Nations is yet to be decided. The venue for the same is Mozambique, wherein the top three teams will travel to Uzbekistan.
The format for the FIFA Futsal Tournament will see 24 nations compete in a group stage. They will be divided into six groups. The top two teams from each group will move on to the knockout phase. The Round of 16 will be followed by quarterfinals, semi-finals, and finals. A football event for third place will happen before the finals.
Brazil is currently leading the leaderboard with five titles to their names: 1989, 1992, 1996, 2008, and 2012. The last edition, which happened in 2021, was won by Portugal, dethroning Argentina, the 2016 winners of the tournament. Spain has won the tournament twice, once in 2000 and twice in 2004. In the following edition, Brazil broke their winning streak.
Brazil is not really going as strong as it should be. Their last victory was against Peru. Since then, their games have either been drawn or ended with a loss. The most recent loss was against Argentina, 1-0.
Italy will be missing out on the tournament after losing 4-0 to Spain in their backyard. Only two teams will make it to the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024 which is happening in Uzbekistan from September 14, 2024, to October 06, 2024.
