Technical Study Group gear up for FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup UAE 2024™

The twelfth edition of the tournament promises to be extremely competitive, despite the absence of Russia who won as host nation in 2021. Five-time winners Brazil are among the favourites, while 2021 runners-up, Japan, are also hotly tipped to be competing at the latter stages of the competition. Reigning European champions, Italy, are also expected to be in contention while Iran and Portugal have something to prove and will expect to be in the reckoning. 

The matches include three periods of 12 minutes each, with three-minute intervals. They can be high-scoring due to the speed at which they are played and the high proportion of time that the ball is in play. Quick restarts and the fact that players can score from anywhere on the pitch mean the games are played at relentless pace, placing extremely high physical, technical and cognitive demands on the players. Teams can have a maximum of five players (including one goalkeeper) on the pitch at any one time, and the unlimited substitutions coupled with the unpredictable playing surface make each game a thrilling spectacle.   

FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG) will be on-site to attend all 32 matches and will provide a full technical, tactical and physical analysis of how the tournament unfolds. Led by Arsène Wenger, FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development Division, the TSG will also include Matteo Marrucci (ITA) and Dejan Stanković (SUI), two stalwarts of the game as players and coaches. Both transitioned to beach soccer from regular football, a trend that others like Eric Cantona, Zico, Alessandro Altobelli, Romário, Caludio Gentile and the Van de Kerkhof brothers also followed. 

However, in 2024, it’s players like Edson Hulk (BRA), Marco Giordani (ITA), Chiky Ardil (ESP), Catarino (BRA), Bê and Leo Martins (POR), Ozu Moreira (JPN) and Moslem Mesigar (IRN) who are expected to steal the headlines due to their outrageous skills and abilities.

Matteo Marrucci

Matteo Marrucci made his beach soccer debut for Italy in 2011 and played in three World Cups (2011, 2015 and 2017), finishing fourth in both 2015 and 2017. In 2017, he started to focus more on coaching, first with Pisa Beach Soccer and then as head coach of Germany’s national team. Following beach soccer’s restart after the Covid pandemic, Marrucci returned to Italy and became the coach of Catania beach soccer in 2021. He attended FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Moscow 2021™ as part of the TSG and returns for this edition in the UAE. He also had spells as head coach of the Netherlands and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and is currently back with Pisa Beach Soccer, winning the Italian league and Italian Cup in 2022 and the Super Cup in 2023. 

Looking ahead to kick-off in Dubai, Marrucci has great expectations for the tournament ahead:

“I am happy that Italy have qualified for the World Cup. They lost to Portugal in the 2019 final but did not qualify for Moscow 2021, so I am curious to see them. They are the European Champions and have a good opportunity to advance to the later stages, even though in Italy, February is the off-season, and many of Italy’s players will be playing in a World Cup for the first time.  

“For the same reason, February is the perfect month for Brazil as they are mid-season, and they are the world leaders when it comes to the tradition of beach soccer. Japan really emerged as contender in 2021 despite losing the final to Russia so I am very interested to see them again. Senegal finished fourth in 2021 so Group C, between themselves, Japan, Belarus and Colombia is a very tough group. 

“Group B is probably the most intriguing and difficult group. Spain, Iran, Argentina and Tahiti. Tahiti have a great World Cup tradition and lost the finals in both 2015 and 2017 but have a new generation now so this group will be fascinating,” he added.

Dejan Stanković   

Dejan Stanković also brings vast beach soccer experience to the TSG. With 402 caps for Switzerland spanning a 20-year career, he has played in six World Cups including an outstanding tournament in 2009, the last time the competition was hosted in Dubai. Despite Switzerland’s defeat to Brazil in the final, Stanković was named MVP for the tournament while also claiming the top-scorer award after bagging 16 goals. 

During his elusive beach soccer playing career, the Switzerland forward is a four-time Russian champion (Lokomotiv Moscow), three-time Italian champion (Catania/Terracina), a two-time Swiss Champion (Grasshoppers Club) and is a 2017 Club World Cup winner with Lokomotiv Moscow.  

He too is expecting high quality, competitive games during the eleven-day tournament in the UAE.

“I am expecting very tough games on a high level. I think the games will be close and many of the group-stage encounters are very hard to predict the winner. Teams will have to perform at their maximum in every match and cannot take any opponent for granted. Even the favourites like Brazil, Portugal and Iran will need to take their group games very seriously.

“I know many of the players very well, so I know the quality they bring, and I expect a very high standard in terms of technique and fitness. It will be strange for me not to be playing this time, but I am looking forward to our work in the Technical Study Group.” 

Pascal Zuberbühler

Pascal Zuberbühler is FIFA’s Senior Football and Goalkeeping Expert and brings a huge wealth of experience to the group. “Zubi” has been part of the TSG for all FIFA tournaments over the last number of years, including the Beach Soccer World Cup in 2021, and is a former Switzerland national team goalkeeper.

During his club career, he played for seven years at Grasshoppers, followed by another seven at FC Basel before spells with Bayer Leverkusen in Germany and West Bromwich Albion and Fulham in England.  

According to Zuberbühler, “I have not played beach soccer, but I recognise how demanding the goalkeeper role is in this sport. Because the goalkeeper needs to keep the ball in the air, their technical skill levels must be exceptionally high, especially because they are so involved in the build-up play. They have high levels of responsibility and are very influential in direct and individual attacking play. The speed of their decision-making and the quality of their technical execution are crucial.

“The quality and standard of play that we saw at the last Beach Soccer World Cup in 2021 was very high and when we see the quality of the teams that qualified, and the quality of teams that did not qualify, we know straight away how competitive this tournament will be. 

“The standard of the goalkeepers is always very interesting for me and there are some very strong ‘keepers in this tournament. Two of the three nominees for men’s best goalkeeper will be playing here, Leandro Casapieri (ITA) and Tiago Santos “Bobo” (BRA). The goalkeeper position in beach soccer is a very demanding position so we will be analysing it all in great detail and we are expecting a high-level tournament,” he explained. 

Project Leads
Arsène Wenger – Chief of Global Football Development
Steven Martens – Director of Global Football Development
Tom Gardner – Lead of Football Performance Insights

Technical Experts
Pascal Zuberbühler – Senior Football Expert
Matteo Marrucci – Technical Expert
Dejan Stanković – Technical Expert

Football Performance Insights
Harry Lowe – Team Lead Football Performance Analysis
Alessandro Foglino – Football Performance Analyst

Technical Football Content 
Lisa Fallon – Football Content Tournament Lead

The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup kicks off on Thursday 15^th February where Groups A and B commence, including hosts UAE’s opening match against Egypt.