The 6th FIFA Futsal World Cup 2008 took place from September 30th to October 19th, 2008 in Brazil . For the first time, 20 teams took part in the futsal tournament. The opening ceremony took place in Brasília , the final in Rio de Janeiro . The hosts, Brazil, won their fourth title with a 4-3 win over Spain in a seven-meter shoot-out.
In Brasília, the games were played in Ginásio Nilson Nelson . The hall, which opened in 1973, can seat 11,200 spectators. The venue was used to host 20 preliminary round and six intermediate round games.
In Rio de Janeiro, the Ginásio Gilberto Cardoso served as the venue. Up to 12,600 spectators could watch the games in the multifunctional arena, which was opened in 1954 and renovated in 2007. In addition to 20 preliminary round and six intermediate round games, the semi-finals and finals were also played in the arena. The arena, often referred to as Maracanãzinho , is located in close proximity to the Maracanã Stadium .
The field of participants was increased from 16 to 20 teams. For the Solomon Islands and Libya it was the first participation in the finals. Host Brazil were the only team to qualify automatically. Except in Europe, the continental championship was used as a qualifying tournament.
The European qualification was initially divided into ten groups (eight with four teams, two with three teams), of which the group winners and the two best runners-up qualified for the play-off games. There the six World Cup participants were then played in home and return matches. Most of the time there were no surprises, only the four-time World Cup participant Netherlands failed in the group stage and only finished third behind Bosnia-Herzegovina and Lithuania.
In South America, the finalists were determined during the Copa América de Futsal 2008 . Since Brazil won the tournament as a qualified team, the fourth-placed Paraguayans qualified for the finals alongside Uruguay and Argentina.
In Asia, the Futsal Asian Cup 2008 served as a qualifying tournament. At the finals held in Thailand, Iran won its 9th Asian title and qualified for the finals for the fifth time in a row. In addition, hosts Thailand as well as Japan and China bought the final round ticket. Australia, which played in the Oceania zone until 2006, missed the finals for the first time with the quarter-finals.
At the CONCACAF Futsal Championship 2008 , the three World Cup participants from the North and Central American zones were determined. The tournament was won by Guatemala through a final victory over Cuba. The USA secured last place with a 7-1 victory over Panama in the game for third place.
For the first time, two nations from Africa were allowed to start. At the 2008 African Futsal Championship held at the end of March 2008, Libya asserted itself in the final against previous series winners Egypt in a six-meter shootout.
Seven teams from Oceania competed for the final round, and for the first time the previous series winner Australia was missing because of the move to the Asian zone. As part of the OFC Futsal Championship 2008 in Fiji , a three-way battle developed between the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tahiti. The former narrowly prevailed and represented Oceania for the first time at a Futsal World Cup.
Despite the increase in the number of teams from 16 to 20, the mode remained almost the same. The 20 teams initially played in four preliminary round groups of five teams each. Within each group, each team plays against each other team once. The two best in each group qualify for the second group phase, 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 will take place in a knockout system. If there is a tie in points during the first group phase, the direct comparison decides , in the second group phase the goal difference decides on the placement.
The Golden Ball for the most valuable player of the tournament went to the Brazilian Falcão . His teammates Schuhmacher and Tiago received the Silver and Brozenen Ball, respectively. The Russian Pula received the Golden Shoe for the best goalscorer, ahead of the Brazilians Falcão and Lenísio . The Golden Glove , which was awarded for the first time , also went to the Brazilian Tiago . The team from Spain received the fair play award .
Brazil (4th title)
Pula (16 goals)
yellow cards
Yellow-red cards
Red cards
Italy
Portugal
Spain
Czech Republic
Ukraine
Argentina
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Paraguay
Uruguay
People's Republic of China
Iran
Japan
Thailand
Guatemala
Cuba
United States
Egypt
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Libya
Solomon Islands
