Futsal World Cup 1992

Futsal World Cup 1992
2nd Indoor (Five-a-Side) World Championship / 2 ° Campeonato Mundial de Futsal
Number of nations	16  (of 27 applicants)
World Champion	Brazil (2nd title)
venue	Hong Kong
Opening game	November 15, 1992
Endgame	November 28, 1992
Games	40
Gates	307  (⌀: 7.68 per game)
spectator	50,300  (⌀: 1,258 per game)
Top scorer	Rajabi Shirazi (16 goals)
Best player	Jorginho
yellow cards	104  (⌀: 2.6 per game)
Yellow-red cards	3  (⌀: 0.08 per game)
Red cards	2  (⌀: 0.05 per game)

The 2nd FIFA Futsal World Cup took place in Hong Kong from November 15 to November 28, 1992 . The 16 participating teams played the second futsal world champion in 40 games under the auspices of FIFA .

The Brazilian team were able to defend their title by beating the United States 4-1 in the final. The Spanish team won the match for third place 9: 6 against Iran, whose ranks included Saeid Rajabi Shirazi, the tournament's top scorer. The Brazilian Jorginho was named the best player of the tournament.

Hosts and venues

Hong Kong is the smallest country to have ever hosted a FIFA final tournament. The Hong Kong Football Association was responsible for the organization .

Only two halls on the Kowloon peninsula were chosen as the venues . The Hong Kong Coliseum was the main venue for the World Cup; a total of 24 games took place in it, including the semifinals and finals. The hall, located in the Hung Hom district ( Kowloon City district ), was opened in 1983 and has an audience capacity of 10,500. The second venue which served Kowloon Park Sports Center in the park of Kowloon in the district of Tsim Sha Tsui (District Yau Tsim Mong ). The hall offers space for around 250 spectators.

• venue
• 

  Hong Kong Coliseums, Hung Hom 2010

• 

  Main entrance to the Hong Kong Coliseum, 2004

• 

  Kowloon Park overview, 2004

• 

  Kowloon Park Extension, 1989

Attendees

In addition to hosts Hong Kong, a total of 26 associations applied to participate in the second Futsal World Cup. As in the Netherlands three years earlier, 16 teams took part in the final tournament.

In Asia, Europe, Oceania and South America there were qualifying matches, the African representative Nigeria and the two CONCACAF participants, Costa Rica and the United States, were invited to the tournament by FIFA. Hosts Hong Kong were also automatically qualified.

From Asia the People's Republic of China (against Japan and Thailand) and Iran (against Oman and Kuwait) qualified, in Oceania Australia prevailed against New Zealand and Vanuatu. In South America only four teams applied for the three available places. Ultimately, Ecuador failed. In Europe there were two qualifying groups, each with five teams, of which the first three qualified. The Yugoslav team initially prevailed, but after resolutions passed by the United Nations , as in the European Football Championship in 1992 or later, they were also excluded from the Winter Olympic Games . Belgium moved up for Yugoslavia.

It was the first time that Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Iran, Nigeria, Poland, Russia and the People's Republic of China had taken part in a FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Placements of the participants

6 from Europe	Belgium 1	Italy	Netherlands	Poland
	Russia	Spain
3 from South America	Argentina	Brazil	Paraguay
3 from Asia	People's Republic of China	Hong Kong	Iran
2 from North and Central America	Costa Rica	United States
1 from Africa	Nigeria
1 from Oceania	Australia

¹ Belgium replaced Yugoslavia.

mode

The mode remained unchanged compared to the 1989 World Cup . The 16 teams initially played in four preliminary round groups of four teams each. Within each group, each team played against each other team. The two group best of each group qualified for the second group stage, in which the eight teams were again divided into two groups of four (two preliminary round winners and two preliminary round runners-up per group) and again played a game against each team. The two best in each group qualified for the semi-finals, which the teams played in the knockout system . If there was a tie during the group stage, the goal difference decided the placement.

Preliminary round

The draw took place in Hong Kong on June 12, 1992, with Yugoslavia in the lottery, which was later replaced by Belgium. It has not yet been possible to determine whether a seeding list existed and, if so, according to which criteria it was determined, it only seems certain that Hong Kong was set as the group head of group A, the other group heads were the Netherlands, Brazil and the People's Republic of China.

Group A

rank	country	Gates	Points
1	Argentina	11: 5	6-0
2	Poland	11: 9	4-2
3	Hong Kong	7: 7	2-4
4th	Nigeria	7:15	0-6

So, November 15, 1992, 3 p.m. in the Coliseum
Argentina	-	Nigeria	6: 2 (4: 0)
Sun, November 15, 1992, 5 p.m. in the Coliseum
Hong Kong	-	Poland	2: 4 (1: 2)
Tue, November 17, 1992, 6:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Poland	-	Nigeria	5: 4 (3: 1)
Tue, November 17, 1992, 8:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Hong Kong	-	Argentina	1: 2 (1: 0)
Fri, Nov 20, 1992 at 8:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Poland	-	Argentina	2: 3 (2: 3)
Fri, November 20, 1992, 8:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Hong Kong	-	Nigeria	4: 1 (0: 0)

Argentina and Poland prevailed in Group A. In all four countries, Futsal was largely unknown at the time and the group turned out to be the weakest group in the preliminary round, as Argentina and Poland were eliminated as the bottom of the group. While indoor football was already practiced in Poland and Argentina at least at the amateur level, structures were only created for the tournament in Hong Kong and Nigeria. Coach Vic Hermans, who was awarded the Golden Ball at the 1989 World Cup, could not prevent the hosts from leaving.

Group B

rank	country	Gates	Points
1	Iran	18:13	4-2
2	Netherlands	7: 7	4-2
3	Italy	15:16	2-4
4th	Paraguay	14:18	2-4

Mon, November 16, 1992, 6:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Netherlands	-	Iran	2: 1 (2: 0)
Mon, Nov 16, 1992, 6:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Paraguay	-	Italy	5: 7 (1: 2)
Wed, November 18, 1992, 6:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Iran	-	Italy	7: 5 (4: 1)
Wed, November 18, 1992, 8:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Netherlands	-	Paraguay	1: 3 (0: 2)
Fri, November 20, 1992, 6:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Netherlands	-	Italy	4: 3 (1: 0)
Fri, Nov 20, 1992 at 6:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Iran	-	Paraguay	10: 6 (2: 2)

In Group B, the Iranian team surprised the competition. They were able to qualify for the second round even before the reigning runner-up in the Netherlands, even though they were the only country in the group where futsal was only played incidentally by a few footballers until the start of the tournament. The team from the Netherlands prevailed as expected, with the results being extremely close. For Italy and Paraguay the tournament was over after the preliminary round.

Group C

rank	country	Gates	Points
1	Brazil	23: 1	6-0
2	Belgium	8: 8	4-2
3	Australia	9:11	2-4
4th	Costa Rica	9:29	0-6

Mon, November 16, 1992, 8:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Brazil	-	Australia	3: 0 (2: 0)
Sun November 16, 1992, 8:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Costa Rica	-	Belgium	2: 6 (1: 3)
Thursday, November 19, 1992, 6:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Australia	-	Belgium	1: 2 (1: 1)
Thursday, November 19, 1992, 8:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Brazil	-	Costa Rica	15: 1 (4: 0)
Sat, November 21, 1992, 6:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Brazil	-	Belgium	5: 0 (2: 0)
Sat, Nov 21, 1992 at 6:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Australia	-	Costa Rica	8: 6 (5: 2)

As expected, Group C was dominated by Brazil. With a goal difference of 23: 1 and three wins in three games, they prevailed confidently. The follow-up team from Belgium made it to second place with a narrow victory over Australia.

Group D

rank	country	Gates	Points
1	Spain	18:15	5-1
2	United States	18: 9	4-2
3	Russia	20:16	3-3
4th	China	7:23	0-6

Tuesday, November 17, 1992, 6:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
China	-	Spain	5: 6 (2: 2)
Tue, November 17, 1992, 8:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Russia	-	United States	3: 8 (0: 3)
Thursday, November 19, 1992, 6:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Spain	-	United States	5: 3 (1: 0)
Thursday, November 19, 1992, 8:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
China	-	Russia	1:10 (1: 2)
Sat, November 21, 1992, 8:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
China	-	United States	1: 7 (0: 4)
Sat, Nov 21, 1992 at 8:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Spain	-	Russia	7: 7 (2: 1)

Group D was close. Ultimately, favorites Spain and the United States prevailed, Russia missing a goal in the final game against Spain to advance. For China, whose team consisted of ordinary footballers, only an extra role remained in this group.

Intermediate round

Group E

rank	country	Gates	Points
1	Brazil	13: 4	5-1
2	United States	11: 8	4-2
3	Netherlands	8:10	3-3
4th	Argentina	5:15	0-6

Mon, November 23, 1992, 6:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Argentina	-	Netherlands	1: 4 (0: 0)
Mon, November 23, 1992, 8:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Brazil	-	United States	2: 2 (0: 1)
Tue, November 24, 1992, 8:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Argentina	-	Brazil	1: 5 (1: 3)
Tue, November 24, 1992, 8:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Netherlands	-	United States	3: 3 (1: 2)
Wed, Nov 25, 1992, 8:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Argentina	-	United States	3: 6 (2: 2)
Wed, November 25, 1992, 8:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Netherlands	-	Brazil	1: 6 (0: 3)

In Group E, tournament favorites and the United States prevailed against vice world champions Netherlands and Argentina. The USA managed a surprising draw against the Brazilians and another draw in the preliminary game for the semi-finals against the Netherlands. Argentina played no role in this group.

Group F.

rank	country	Gates	Points
1	Iran	10: 4	6-0
2	Spain	14:10	4-2
3	Belgium	9:10	2-4
4th	Poland	4:13	0-6

Mon, Nov 23, 1992 at 6:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Iran	-	Poland	2: 0 (0: 0)
Mon, Nov 23, 1992 at 8:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Spain	-	Belgium	5: 3 (1: 1)
Tue, November 24, 1992, 6:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Iran	-	Spain	4: 2 (0: 1)
Tue, November 24, 1992, 6:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Poland	-	Belgium	1: 4 (0: 3)
Wed, November 25, 1992, 6:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
Iran	-	Belgium	4: 2 (1: 0)
Wed, Nov 25, 1992, 6:30 p.m. in Kowloon Park
Poland	-	Spain	3: 7 (1: 5)

In Group F, World Cup favorites Spain faced the outsider teams from Belgium, Poland and Iran. The Iranian team surprised again and even beat the Spaniards 4-2. The other two group games were also successful. Despite the surprising defeat, Spain managed to make it into the semi-finals as second in the group.

Final round

Semifinals

November 27, 1992	Coliseum	Iran	-	United States		2: 4 (1: 1)
November 27, 1992	Coliseum	Brazil	-	Spain		4: 1 (3: 0)

In the semifinals, the Iranian team lost 4-2 to the United States. Up until this game, the Iranian team had played the tournament with only six outfield players, while most of the others used seven to nine outfield players per game. The Iranian players showed the rigors of the previous six games, which ultimately led to the USA prevailing in the second half.

Title favorites Brazil prevailed against their strongest competitor from Spain with 4: 1 and, as in 1989, made it into the final. The game was already decided at halftime when Brazil led 3-0.

3rd place match

November 28, 1992

Coliseum

Spain

-

Iran

9: 6 (6: 4)

In the game for third place, the two teams made for one of the highest-scoring games of the tournament. Ultimately, the Spanish team retaliated for the defeat in the second group stage and took bronze.

final

November 28, 1992

Coliseum

Brazil

-

United States

4: 1 (1: 0)

In the finals of the snicker's Trophy , named after a chocolate bar from the main sponsor of the event Mars Inc. , Brazil prevailed again. The game was open for a long time and at the beginning of the second half the Americans managed to equalize. A short time later, however, with goals from Jorginho and captain Vander, the Brazilians were able to create a two-goal lead within a minute and defend it to the end.

Best goal scorers

rank	player	Gates
1	Saeid Rajabi Shirazi	16
2	Constantine Yeremenko	15th
3	Alvaro	11
4th	Ortiz	10
5	Dale Irvine	9
	Vander	9
7th	Manoel Tobias	8th
8th	Andrea Rubei	7th
	Jorginho	7th
	Paco	7th
11	Gabriel Valarin	6th
	Raf Hernalsteen	6th
	Chico Borja	6th

Awards

The Brazilian Jorginho was awarded the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament, but he does not appear on the All-Star Team in the Technical Report. A silver or bronze ball was not awarded. The Iranian Saeid Rajabi Shirazi received the Golden Shoe as the tournament's best scorer . The USA team won the Fair Play Prize .

Conclusion

The all-star team in tactical order

There were striking differences in the importance of futsal in their own country between the participating associations. While futsal is very popular in Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands and the United States, the sport was mostly just a marginal sport or entirely new in the rest of the participating nations. It was therefore not surprising that three of the four semi-finalists came from the strongholds of indoor football. Iran was promoted to the tournament's surprise team and finished 4th in the end. The significantly higher level of play compared to the 1989 World Cup was also positively emphasized, which also ensured that the goal average increased considerably.

Hong Kong was praised as the host for the athletes' good accommodation, supply, transport and technical infrastructure. There was criticism for the hall floor, on which the ball did not roll optimally and the sometimes low audience.

The technical report also suggested giving the coach the option of time-out (this had to be requested by the captain during the tournament), increasing the number of players to be nominated from 12 to 14 and changing the size of the ball from 4 to 3 (a commercially available football is size 5). The use of regular football referees was also criticized, as they could not adapt to the special rules of futsal within a short period of time.

In Germany, the tournament was only marginally noticed. The trade journal kicker reported briefly on the events under the heading “telegrams”. After the final, a small article was published in the “international football” section.

Web links

• Official FIFA website for the 1992 tournament
• Technical report on the 1992 Futsal World Cup ( PDF ; 15.3 MB) (English, Spanish)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hong Kong Coliseum - The Arena ( October 9, 2012 memento in the Internet Archive ), accessed July 15, 2019
2. ↑ Indoor Facilities - Kowloon Park Sports Center ( Memento of 30 November 2007 at the Internet Archive ), accessed on July 15, 2019