1996 Beach Soccer World Championships

The 1996 Beach Soccer World Championships was the second edition of the Beach Soccer World Championships, the most prestigious competition in international beach soccer contested by men's national teams until 2005, when the competition was then replaced by the second iteration of a world cup in beach soccer, the better known FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.[1] It was organised by Brazilian sports agency Koch Tavares (one of the founding partners of Beach Soccer Worldwide).

1996 Beach Soccer World Championships
Tournament details
Host countryBrazil
DatesJanuary 30 – February 4
Teams8 (from 3 confederations)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions Brazil (2nd title)
Runners-up Uruguay
Third place Italy
Fourth place United States
Tournament statistics
Matches played16
Goals scored132 (8.25 per match)
Top scorer(s)Italy Altobelli (14 goals)
Best player(s)Brazil Edinho
Best goalkeeperBrazil Paulo Sérgio
1995
1997

The tournament again took place at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as it did during the maiden edition a year earlier.

Brazil successfully defended their title by beating Uruguay 3–0 in what was the lowest scoring final to date, to win their second World Championship. The Uruguayans remained the only side not to score in a world cup final until Tahiti also failed to do so in 2017.

This edition is one of only two world cups after the first (the other being 2003) when no matches went beyond regulation time.

Organisation

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The organisation remained the same as the format established for the maiden event in the previous year; the eight participating nations competed in two groups of four teams in a round robin format. The top two teams progressed straight to the semi-finals from which point on the championship was played as a knock-out tournament until a winner was crowned with an additional match to determine third place.

The capacity of the arena used for this edition of the World Championships remained the same as in 1995, at 12,000 seats available for spectators.[2]

Teams

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Africa, Asia and Oceania were unrepresented.

Notes:
1. Teams making their debut


Group stage

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Group A

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Pos Team Pld W W+ L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Brazil 3 3 0 0 24 5 +19 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Uruguay 3 1 0 2 12 13 –1 3
3   Denmark 3 1 0 2 10 16 –6 3
4   Canada 3 1 0 2 12 24 –12 3


Uruguay  5–6  Canada
   
Brazil  7–1  Denmark
   

Uruguay  5–3  Denmark
   
Brazil  13–2  Canada
   

Denmark  6–4  Canada
   
Brazil  4–2  Uruguay
   

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W W+ L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   United States 3 3 0 0 14 9 +5 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Italy 3 2 0 1 14 9 +5 6
3   Russia 3 1 0 2 8 10 –2 3
4   Argentina 3 0 0 3 5 13 –8 0


United States  4–2  Argentina
   
Italy  5–1  Russia
   

Russia  4–1  Argentina
   
United States  6–4  Italy
   

Italy  5–2  Argentina
   
United States  4–3  Russia
   

Knockout stage

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Semi-finals

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Uruguay  7–0  United States
   

Brazil  12–4  Italy
   

Third place play-off

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Italy  4–3  United States
   

Final

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Brazil  3–0  Uruguay
Zico  
Magal  
Neném  
Report  
Referee: Jose Roberto Wright

Winners

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 1996 Beach Soccer World Championships
champions 
 
Brazil
Second title

Awards

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Top scorer
  Alessandro Altobelli
14 goals2
Best player
  Edinho
Best goalkeeper
  Paulo Sérgio

2. Other sources suggest 13 goals [1]

Final standings

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Pos Grp Team Pld W W+ L GF GA GD Pts Final result
1 A   Brazil 5 5 0 0 39 9 +30 15 Champions
2 A   Uruguay 5 2 0 3 19 16 +3 6 Runners-up
3 B   Italy 5 3 0 2 22 24 −2 9 Third place
4 B   United States 5 3 0 2 17 20 −3 9 Fourth place
5 B   Russia 3 1 0 2 8 10 −2 3 Eliminated in the
group stage
6 A   Denmark 3 1 0 2 10 16 −6 3
7 A   Canada 3 1 0 2 12 24 −12 3
8 B   Argentina 3 0 0 3 5 13 −8 0
Source: [2]

Sources

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  1. ^ "FIFA launches first ever FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup". FIFA.com. 1 February 2005. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Beach Soccer". kochtavares.com.br. 1 February 1998. Archived from the original on 1 February 1998. Retrieved 15 June 2017.