2018 Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup

2018 Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup
Tournament details
Host countryUnited Arab Emirates
CityDubai
Dates6–10 November
Teams8 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions Iran (2nd title)
Runners-up Russia
Third place Brazil
Fourth place Egypt
Tournament statistics
Matches played20
Goals scored186 (9.3 per match)
Top scorer(s)Russia Fedor Zemskov (9 goals)
Best player(s)Brazil Rodrigo
Best goalkeeperIran Hamid Behzadpour
← 2017
2019 →

The 2018 Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup, also known as the Huawei Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup Dubai 2018 for sponsorship reasons,[1] was the eighth edition of the Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup, an annual international beach soccer tournament contested by men's national teams.

Held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates since its inception, this year's event occurred between 6 and 10 November.[2] The tournament was organised by the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) and Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW).[3]

After the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the Intercontinental Cup is the biggest tournament in the current international beach soccer calendar.[3] Similar to the FIFA Confederations Cup,[4] eight nations will take part, with one team representing each of the six continental football confederations as well as the current World Cup champions, Brazil, and the hosts, the United Arab Emirates.

The tournament started with a round robin group stage. The winners and runners-up from each group advanced to the knockout stage, a series of single-elimination matches, beginning with the semi-finals and ending with the final. Consolation matches were also played to determine other final rankings.

The season-ending Beach Soccer Stars awards were also presented in Dubai as a conclusion to the tournament.[5]

Brazil were the defending champions but lost to Russia in the semi-finals, ultimately finishing third; the defeat ended a 66-game winning streak for Canarinhos,[6] their last loss dating back to the 2015 World Cup (also against Russia). Iran beat Russia in the final to claim their second Intercontinental Cup crown.[7]

Participating teams

The following eight teams took part[8] including the hosts, current World Cup winners and one of the best performing nations from each of the six regional championships hosted by the confederations of FIFA. However, CONMEBOL did not enter a regional performer this year, so UEFA entered two teams.

Overall, Europe and Asia were represented by two nations; Africa, South America, North America and Oceania, one nation each.

Map highlighting the participating teams of the 2018 Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup
Team Confederation Recent achievements Participation
 United Arab Emirates AFC Hosts1 8th
 Brazil CONMEBOL 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup winners 7th
 Iran AFC 2017 AFC Beach Soccer Championship winners 6th
 Egypt CAF 2016 Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations third place 4th
 Russia UEFA 2018 Euro Beach Soccer League fourth place 8th
 Spain UEFA 2018 Euro Beach Soccer League runners-up Debut
 Tahiti OFC 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup runners-up 5th
 United States CONCACAF 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship fifth place 4th
1. Qualified as hosts, but also achieved a 2017 AFC Beach Soccer Championship runners-up finish


Venue

The tournament took place in a new part of Dubai for the second consecutive year; this edition is held at an arena on Kite Beach, Jumeirah 3,[5] with a capacity of 3,500.[9]

Speaking at the draw event, BSWW Vice-president Joan Cusco was welcoming of the change of location back to a beach venue saying, "this is where we belong".[10] (The previous edition was held in an inland area of Dubai for the first time). On the change of venue, DSC General Secretary Saeed Hareb stated the Council was in the process of finding a permanent home for the Intercontinental Cup.[11]

Sponsors

The following were the official sponsors of the tournament:[12]

Draw

The draw to split the eight teams into two groups of four took place on 10 October at the Dubai Sports Council headquarters at 11:00 GST (UTC+4).[8]

For the purposes of the draw, the nations were divided into fours sets, Pots 1–4, shown in the table below. From each pot, the first team drawn out was placed into Group A; the other team was drawn into Group B. The teams were allocated to specific positions in their respective groups via the drawing of balls from a further two pots; for the teams entering Group A, Pot A, which contained the positions A1–A4 and for the teams entering Group B, Pot B, containing the positions B1–B4.[13]

The hosts, the United Arab Emirates, were automatically allocated to position A1.[13]

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
  1. ^ Assigned to A1
Note: The numbers in parentheses show the world ranking of the teams at the time of the draw.[14]

Group stage

Matches are listed as local time in Dubai, GST (UTC+4)

Group A

Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Brazil 3 3 0 0 0 24 8 +16 9 Knockout stage
2  Egypt 3 2 0 0 1 15 17 −2 6
3  United Arab Emirates (H) 3 1 0 0 2 7 16 −9 3 5th–8th place play-offs
4  Spain 3 0 0 0 3 12 17 −5 0
Source: BSWW
(H) Host
Brazil 5–2 Spain
Bruno Xavier 14', 33'
Datinha 20', 28'
Rodrigo 23'		 Report(ru) 19' Suarez
22' Llorenç
Referee: Bakhtiyor Namazov (Uzbekistan)
United Arab Emirates 1–3 Egypt
A. Mohammadi 13' Report(ru) 1' A. Elshahat
30' H. Ataf
32' Mohamed
Referee: Christian Zimmermann (Switzerland)
Egypt 5–10 Brazil
A. Elshahat 10'
Samir 16'
Mohamed 19'
H. Atef 20'
Hassane 33'		 Report(ru) 3' Bruno Xavier
5', 11', 20' (pen.) Igor
10' Mauricinho
10' Bokinha
12', 33' Rodrigo
32' Filipe
34' Rafinha
Referee: Sergio Gomes Soares (Portugal)
Spain 4–5 United Arab Emirates
Llorenç 1', 31', 31'
Antonio 26'		 Report(ru) 7', 21' Almuntaser
13', 13' A. Beshr
24' A. Mohammadi
Referee: Suhaimi Mat Hassan (Malaysia)
Egypt 7–6 Spain
M. Sasa 4', 14', 34' (pen.), 36'
Mohamed 6'
Hassane 21'
A. Elshahat 36'		 Report(ru) 6', 15' Javi Torres
14' Suarez
17' Chiky
21' Adril
21' Llorenç
Referee: Bakhtiyor Namazov (Uzbekistan)
United Arab Emirates 1–9 Brazil
A. Ali 36' Report(ru) 8', 15' Filipe
29' Igor
31' Mao
31' Mauricinho
33' Antonio
34' Rafinha
34' (o.g.) A. Beshr
34' Bruno Xavier
Referee: Denis Smolyaninov (Russia)

Group B

Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iran 3 3 0 0 0 15 5 +10 9 Knockout stage
2  Russia 3 2 0 0 1 22 12 +10 6
3  Tahiti 3 0 1 0 2 15 17 −2 2 5th–8th place play-offs
4  United States 3 0 0 0 3 10 28 −18 0
Source: BSWW
Tahiti 6–7 Russia
Taiarui 8'
Tavanae 24', 25'
Revel 26'
Lebaste 30'
Li Fung Kuee 34'		 Report(ru) 1' Chuzhkov
8', 19' Zemskov
8', 14' Paporotyni
10' Nikonorov
34' Shkarin
Referee: Sergio Gomes Soares (Portugal)
Iran 8–1 United States
Moradi 3', 20'
Akbari 10'
Ahmedzadeh 10'
Kiani 13'
Mesigar 16'
Masoumizadeh 23' (pen.)
Mirshekari 24'		 Report(ru) 28' Silveira
Referee: Ebrahim Almansory (United Arab Emirates)
Russia 13–3 United States
Zemskov 1', 19', 24', 29', 32', 36'
Novikov 5'
Paporotyni 6'
Krasheninnikov 17', 35'
Shishin 20'
Romanov 21', 34'		 Report(ru) 2' Mondragon
11', 33' Albiston
Referee: Ibrahim Alraeesi (United Arab Emirates)
Tahiti 2–4 Iran
Lebaste 19'
Tavanae 36'		 Report(ru) 9' Akbari
11', 19' Masoumizadeh
12' Behzadpour
Tahiti 7–6 (a.e.t.) United States
Taiarui 2', 38'
Labaste 3'
Li Fung Kuee 16' (pen.), 19', 32'
Tavanae 35'		 Report(ru) 2' Silveira
7', 8', 13' Canale
31' Perera
35' Toth
Referee: Ebrahim Almansory (United Arab Emirates)
Iran 3–2 Russia
Akbari 11'
Piramoun 12'
Behzadpour 32'		 Report(ru) 28' Romanov
29' Zemskov
Referee: Christian Zimmermann (Switzerland)

5th–8th place play-offs

The teams finishing in third and fourth place were knocked out of title-winning contention, receding to play in consolation matches to determine 5th through 8th place in the final standings.

 
5th–8th place semi-finalsFifth place play-off
 
      
 
9 November
 
 
 Tahiti 1
 
10 November
 
 Spain9
 
 Spain 3
 
9 November
 
 United States4
 
 United Arab Emirates 3
 
 
 United States5
 
Seventh place play-off
 
 
10 November
 
 
 Tahiti 6
 
 
 United Arab Emirates7

5th to 8th place semi-finals

Tahiti 1–9 Spain
Lebaste 6' Report(ru) 10' Cintas
10', 12' Javi Torres
13' Suarez
16', 28' Guisado
19' Domi
25' Frutos
32' Adril
Referee: Christian Zimmermann (Switzerland)
United Arab Emirates 3–5 United States
A. Beshr 2'
Ali Karim 11'
A. Mohammadi 33'		 Report(ru) 7' Albiston
12', 22', 32' (pen.) Perera
31' Silveira
Referee: Sergio Gomes Soares (Portugal)

Seventh place play-off

Tahiti 6–7 United Arab Emirates
Taiarui 9'
Li Fung Kuee 16'
Tavanae 17', 26'
Labaste 21'
Salem 27'		 Report(ru) 12' Ali Karim
19', 32' Walid
29', 33' (pen.) A. Beshr
35', 36' W. Beshr
Referee: Denis Smolyaninov (Russia)

Fifth place play-off

Spain 3–4 United States
Suarez 1', 18' (pen.), 26' Report(ru) 4' Canale
15' Mondragon
30' Perera
31' Silveira
Referee: Turki Al Salehi (Oman)

Knockout stage

The group winners and runners-up progressed to the knockout stage to continue to compete for the title.

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
9 November
 
 
 Iran3
 
10 November
 
 Egypt1
 
 Iran4
 
9 November
 
 Russia2
 
 Russia (p)5 (3)
 
 
 Brazil5 (1)
 
Third place play-off
 
 
10 November
 
 
 Egypt3
 
 
 Brazil5

Semi finals

Iran 3–1 Egypt
Masoumizadeh 20'
Mirshekari 31'
Kiani 32'		 Report(ru) 32' (pen.) M. Samir
Referee: Ebrahim Almansory (United Arab Emirates)
Russia 5–5 (a.e.t.) Brazil
Makarov 7'
Nikonorov 13', 39'
Paporotnyi 19', 25'		 Report(ru) 25', 31' Bruno Xavier
35' Datinha
36', 37' Rodrigo
Penalties
Krash soccer ball with check mark
Shishin soccer ball with check mark
Makarov soccer ball with check mark		 3–1 soccer ball with check mark Igor
soccer ball with red X Filipe
Referee: Suhaimi Mat Hassan (Malaysia)

Third place play-off

Egypt 3–5 Brazil
Mohamed 5', 10'
M. Sasa 33'		 Report(ru) 3' Filipe
7', 20', 33' Rodrigo
27' Mauricinho

Final

Iran 4–2 Russia
Kiani 4'
Masoumizadeh 7', 24'
Behzadpour 11'		 Report(ru) 13', 31' Paporotnyi
Referee: Bakhtiyor Namazov (Uzbekistan)

Awards

Winners trophy

 2018 Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup
champions 

Iran
Second title

Individual awards

Top scorer
Russia Fedor Zemskov
9 goals
Best player
Brazil Rodrigo
Best goalkeeper
Iran Hamid Behzadpour
Source

Statistics

Goalscorers

9 goals
  • Russia Fedor Zemskov
8 goals
  • Brazil Rodrigo
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
  • Spain Llorenç Gomez
  • French Polynesia Heiarii Tavanae
  • United Arab Emirates Ahmed Beshr
  • French Polynesia Tearii Labaste
  • French Polynesia Raimana Li Fung Kuee
  • United States Nick Perera
4 goals
  • Egypt Mohamed Abdelnaby
  • Brazil Igor Melo
  • Brazil Filipe Silva
  • United States Tomas Canale
  • United States Gabriel Silveira
  • Spain Javi Torres
3 goals
  • Russia Boris Nikonorov
  • Iran Amirhosein Akbari
  • United States Christopher Albiston
  • Iran Hamid Behzadpour
  • Egypt Ahmed Elshahat
  • Brazil Mauricinho
  • Brazil Datinha
  • Iran Mostafa Kiani
  • United Arab Emirates Ali Mohammadi
  • Russia Kirill Romanov
  • French Polynesia Taiarui Heimanu
2 goals
  • Spain David Adril
  • Egypt Moustafa Samir
  • United Arab Emirates Ali Karim
  • United Arab Emirates Hasham Almuntaser
  • Brazil Rafinha
  • Egypt Haitham Atef
  • United Arab Emirates Waleed Beshr
  • Spain Adrian Frutos
  • Spain Fernando Guisado
  • Russia Yury Krasheninnikov
  • Iran Ali Mirshekari
  • United States David Mondragon
  • Iran Mohammad Moradi
  • United Arab Emirates Walid Mohammadi
  • Egypt Mohamed Hassane
1 goal
  • Iran Mohammed Ahmadzadeh
  • French Polynesia Franck Revel
  • Spain Domingo Cabrera
  • Russia Andrei Novikov
  • French Polynesia Ariihau Teriitau
  • United Arab Emirates Abbas Ali
  • Spain Salvador "Chiky" Ardil
  • Portugal Mao
  • Brazil Bokinha
  • French Polynesia Teva Zaveroni
  • Russia Aleksey Makarov
  • Iran Moslem Mesigar
  • Iran Saeid Piramoun
  • United States Christopher Toth
  • Brazil Antonio Farias
  • French Polynesia Salem Heirauarii
  • Spain Jose Cintas
  • Russia Maxim Chuzhkov
  • Russia Dmitry Shishin
  • Russia Anton Shkarin
Own goals
  • United Arab Emirates Ahmed Beshr (vs. Brazil)

Source

Final standings

Pos Grp Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Final result
1 B  Iran 5 5 0 0 0 22 8 +14 15 Champions
2 B  Russia 5 2 0 1 2 29 21 +8 7 Runners-up
3 A  Brazil 5 4 0 0 1 34 16 +18 12 Third place
4 A  Egypt 5 2 0 0 3 19 25 −6 6
5 B  United States 5 2 0 0 3 19 34 −15 6 Eliminated in
Group stage
6 A  Spain 5 1 0 0 4 24 22 +2 3
7 A  United Arab Emirates 5 2 0 0 3 17 27 −10 6
8 B  Tahiti 5 0 1 0 4 22 33 −11 2
Source: BSWW

References

  1. ^ "UAE, Brazil, Spain and Egypt in same group of Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup". Khaleej Times. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  2. ^ "BSWW представила проект календаря соревнований на 2018 год" (in Russian). Beach Soccer Russia. 3 November 2017. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Intercontinental Cup Dubai agreement extended". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  4. ^ "У стен Башни Халифа. Россия хочет покорить сердце Дубая" (in Russian). Beach Soccer Russia. 30 October 2017. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Beach Soccer Stars Gala in Dubai confirmed". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Brazil's 66-game winning streak ends as Russia join Iran in final". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  7. ^ "Iran repeat 2013 success to lift Huawei Intercontinental Cup". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Teams confirmed for Intercontinental Cup in Dubai". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  9. ^ "The beach soccer stadium in Kite Beach is ready". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Draw confirms groups for the Huawei Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup 2018". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Beach soccer: UAE in same group as defending champions Brazil". Gulf News. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Looking forward to the #HuaweiIntercontinentalCup #beachsoccer #Dubai 2018!! Check out the official poster!!". Beach Soccer Worldwide Twitter. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  13. ^ a b "OFFICIAL DRAW - Huawei Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup Dubai 2018". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  14. ^ "Overall World Ranking". beachsoccer.com. 10 October 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-10-10. Retrieved 10 October 2018.