The U.S. Men’s Beach Soccer National Team is set to take part in its seventh FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup from Feb. 15-25 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Here are five things you should know about the USBMNT heading into the tournament:
Born on the beaches in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, beach soccer has long been played informally on sandy shorelines around the world. Despite its South American roots, the game was codified in 1992 by a group in Los Angeles and one year later the first professional beach soccer competition was held at Miami Beach with the USA hosting Brazil, Argentina and Italy.
In 1994, the first World Championship – which was not affiliated with FIFA – was held for beach soccer in Rio de Janeiro, and the U.S. team had modest success with a second-place finish in 1995 and a third-place finish in 1997. FIFA recognized beach soccer beginning in 2005, and will now stage its 12th Beach Soccer World Cup this month in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Beach Soccer is played on a field that is approximately 36 meters long and 27 meters wide. The game is played on sand that is a minimum of 40 centimeters deep and players must be barefoot. Five players, including a goalkeeper, are on the field at one time and play three, 12 minute periods.
There are up to seven substitutes on the bench and teams can make unlimited substitutions. In instances where games cannot end in ties, they are decided by a three-minute overtime and then kicks from the penalty spot, which is an imaginary mark on an imaginary penalty area line nine meters from the goal.
Other rules include:
The U.S. Men’s Beach Soccer National Team qualified for this year’s World Cup at the 2023 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship held in Nassau, Bahamas last May. Francis Farberoff’s side breezed through the group stage, defeating Dominican Republic 11-1, upending Trinidad and Tobago 6-2, and seeing off Panama 5-1 to claim the top spot in Group C.
In the quarterfinal against Costa Rica, the USA overcame a 3-2 deficit to earn a 5-4 comeback win putting them within one victory of qualification for the World Cup. Facing defending Concacaf champs El Salvador in the semifinals, the USA used a brace from Nick Perera and goals from Nico Perea, Gabe Silveira and Alessandro Canale to claim a 5-2 win and a spot in a third consecutive World Cup.
In the final, the USA earned one of its most dominant wins ever, as this time a Gabe Silveira brace, followed by goals from Perera, Ricardo Carvalho, and Canale led the team to a decisive 5-0 win against rivals Mexico. With the victory, the USA claimed its third Concacaf Beach Soccer title and first since 2013, while captain and all-time leading scorer Nick Perera claimed the Golden Ball as best player at the tournament.
Additionally, the six straight wins in the Bahamas tied the record for longest winning streak in team history, and pushed the USBMNT to an 11-3-0 mark in 2023 – the most successful year since U.S. Soccer began overseeing Beach Soccer in 2005.
Drawn into Group A, the USBMNT will actually play the first match of the tournament against Italy on Thursday, Feb. 15. The USA then faces hosts United Arab Emirates on Saturday, Feb. 17, and finished out group play on Monday, Feb. 19 against Egypt.
FOX Sports (English) and Telemundo (Spanish) hold the broadcast rights for the tournament in the United States, with most matches to be played on FS2 and Universo.
Below is the USA’s full group stage schedule as well as dates, times and tune-in information for the knockout round:
With seven players who have previously featured in a Beach Soccer World Cup and the roster averaging 40 caps, the 2024 squad is the most experienced the USA has ever sent to the event. The experience number was initially higher, but Beach MNT all-time leading scorer and team captain Nick Perera was forced to withdraw from the roster earlier this week after sustaining a left knee injury in club play with Tacoma Stars of the MASL.
Set to appear in their fourth World Cups, the duo of Alessandro Canale and Chris Toth (2013, 2019, 2021, 2024; pictured below) ties Francis Farberoff (2005, 2006, 2007, 2013) for most World Cup rosters in Beach MNT history. The duo also plays with Tacoma Stars.
Toth sits on 97 caps, meaning the goalkeeper is set to become the U.S. Soccer’s first Beach athlete to earn 100 caps, slated for the group stage finale on Feb. 19 versus Egypt.
With nine goals in his previous three World Cups, Canale is tied with Anthony Chimienti as the USA’s all-time leading scorer in the competition. Canale’s 66 career goals in 93 appearances also rank him second all-time in scoring for the Beach MNT. Meanwhile, 2023 U.S. Soccer Male Beach Player of the Year Gabe Silveira (pictured below), is taking part in his third World Cup, and sits third all-time with 44 goals in 54 appearances.
The team is also bolstered by two-time U.S. Soccer Male Beach Soccer Player of the Year, defender Nico Perea (2021, 2022; pictured below) – who scored four of the USA’s 11 goals at the 2021 World Cup — as well midfielder Chris Albiston, who was a finalist for 2023 Player of the Year and captained the USA for the first time during last month’s Maranhao International Cup. Both players join midfielder Tanner Akol and forward Conner Rezende in heading to their second World Cups.
Goalkeeper Austin Collier, defenders Antonio Chavez and Cody Valcarcel, and midfielders Ricardo Carvalho and Andres Navas will all take part in their first World Cups. Chavez, who was an alternate on the 2021 squad, is the youngest player on the roster at age 23. Carvalho is another representative from the MASL where he plays for Milwaukee Wave, and heads to his first World Cup less than a year after making his Beach MNT debut at the 2023 Concacaf Championship.
GOALKEEPERS (2): 12-Austin Collier (Chesapeake, Va.; 11/0), 1-Chris Toth* (San Diego, Calif; 97/16)
DEFENDERS (3): 3-Antonio Chavez (Oceanside, Calif.; 35/7), 5-Nico Perea* (Hollywood, Fla.; 35/19), 6-Cody Valcarcel (Santa Cruz, Calif.; 21/6)
MIDFIELDERS (4): 2-Tanner Akol* (Santa Cruz, Calif.; 24/12), 11-Chris Albiston* (Virginia Beach, Va.; 48/22), 4-Ricardo Carvalho (Milwaukee, Wis.; 10/4), Andres Navas (Miami, Fla.; 16/5)
FORWARDS (3): 9-Alessandro Canale* (Venice Beach, Calif.; 93/66), 8-Conner Rezende* (Davie, Fla.; 33/5), 8-Gabriel Silveira* (San Francisco, Calif.; 54/44)
*- Member of 2021 World Cup squad
Originally scheduled for November 2023, this month’s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup is the seventh edition in which the USA has participated. The USBMNT took part in the first three tournaments, held annually in Brazil from 2005-2007, and returned at Tahiti 2013, when current head coach Francis Farberoff (pictured below) played in his fourth and final World Cup, while current team members Alessandro Canale, Nick Perera and Chris Toth all played in their first tournament.
Now, there is arriving to the big show and then there is getting out of the group – something the USA has never done at this tournament. In fact, the USBMNT is 3-14-0 all-time at the World Cup. Its only wins have come with a 4-2 result against Poland in 2006, 7-6 victory versus IR Iran in 2007 and a 6-4 edge against United Arab Emirates in 2013.
And while the USA has gone 0-6-0 at the last two World Cups, three of those matches have been one-goal games. Most recently in 2019, the USA opened the World Cup with a 5-4 extra time defeat to the Russia Football Union, and then also fell 4-3 to Japan two days later.
In a sport where the margins can be so fine, Francis Farberoff feels the team’s experience in those scenarios and recent success will position the team well to achieve its main goal of becoming the first U.S. side to advance from the Beach World Cup group stage this month in Dubai.
“I have been around this game for a long time as a player and now a coach, and I feel this is the strongest team the USA has ever taken to a Beach Soccer World Cup,” Farberoff said. “All the hard work and dedication the group has put in this cycle continues to drive us toward our main goal of becoming the first U.S. team to advance from the group stage at the Beach Soccer World Cup.”
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