United States national beach soccer team

United States
Association United States Soccer Federation
Confederation CONCACAF
Head coach Eddie Soto
FIFA code USA


First colors


Second colors
Biggest win
 United States 14–3 France 
(Marseille, France; July 1, 1996)
Biggest defeat
 United States 1–13 Brazil 
(Copacabana beach, Brazil; February 20, 2003)
World Cup
Appearances 13
Best result Runners-up (1995)
CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship
Appearances 4 (first in 2006)
Best result Champions (2006, 2013)

The United States national beach soccer team represents the United States in international beach soccer competitions and is controlled by the USSF, the governing body for soccer in the United States.

Rules of the game

A Beach Soccer game[1] is divided into 3, 12-minute periods. There are 2, 3-minute breaks, that split up the periods. Beach soccer is played with two teams, each with 4 field players and one goalie. The play clock will stop whenever a goal is scored, when there is an infraction, and if a team is suspected to be wasting time.

A Beach Soccer game is not allowed to end in a tie. If there is a tie at the end of regulation then there will be an extra 3 minutes played. If the game is still tied after those 3 minutes then the game will go to penalty kicks. Each team will kick 3 penalty kicks. If the game then is still tied it will go to golden goal where the next goal wins. When a team wins in regulation play they will receive 3 points.

If they win in an extra time they will receive 2 points. A team is allowed to make as many substitutions as they want. All substitutions can be made while the play is still going on. If a player receives two yellow cards or a straight red card and is sent off the field, a replacement can come on after a 2-minute penalty period. During the penalty period if the team that is up a player scored then the new player can come back on to make it 5 vs 5 again. All players, including the goalkeeper have 4 seconds to get the ball back into play.

Goalkeepers can only use their hands to get the ball back into play. A keeper can only score with the ball at their feet. When a team is awarded a goal kick, the keeper must throw the ball in.

Every time there is a foul a free kick is given, no wall is allowed by the defensive team. The free kick must be taken by the player that was fouled unless they are injured. If the player does not take the kick within four seconds of the ball being set up then the other team will get the free kick at the same spot.

Throw-ins can be taken with either a player's hands or feet, and there is no off sides in Beach soccer.

Team history

The sport of beach soccer originated in Brazil. Locals played soccer on the beaches for hobby. In 1992, the United States created official rules and a national team for the South American sport, which led other countries to do the same. Then in 1993, the United States held the first ever professional beach soccer event which included national teams from Brazil, Argentina, and Italy. A year later in 1994, the team competed in the first ever Beach Soccer World Championship tournament in Brazil. The U.S. team competed in World Championships again in 1995 and 1997.

The sport of beach soccer, and the United States national beach soccer team, became a recognized part of FIFA – the main international governing body of soccer – in 2005, in which CONCACAF – the Confederation of North & Central America and Caribbean Association Football – became the officiating body for qualifying tournaments. The U.S. national beach soccer team went on to compete in FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup tournaments from 2005 through 2013 against some of the 98 total national teams from all around the world.

The United States national beach soccer team is still currently active, and operates under the USSF – the United States Soccer Federation – alongside the national Men's, Women's, Paralympic, and other United States national soccer teams.

Achievements

The men's U.S. national beach soccer team is currently ranked 30th in the overall world rankings.

In 2005, the team made it to the World Cup in Brazil. In the group stages they were unable to win a game, resulting in them not making it through to the play-offs.

Results of 2005 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup:

Opponent Result U.S Goal Scorer's
Japan 4–8 L Cazassus, Testa
Portugal 4–2 W Braga, Astorga, Farberoff

In 2006, the men's national team made it to the FIFA World Cup, which was held in Brazil. Due to them only winning one game in the group stages, they didn't make it through to the play-offs.

Results of 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup:

Opponent Result U.S Goal Scorer's
Japan 4–8 L Xexeo, Farberoff, Morales, M. Chimienti.
Poland 4–2 W A. Chimienti (2), Taguinod, Astorga.
Brazil 6- 10 L Xexeo (3), Astorga (2), Taguinod.

In 2007, the team made it to the FIFA World Cup in Brazil again. They ended up losing in the group stages and were unable to make it through to the play-offs.

Results of 2007 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup:

Opponent Result U.S Goal Scorer's
Spain 4–8 L Xexeo, Ibsen, Albuquerque, A. Chimienti.
Iran 7–6 W Nolz (2), A. Chimienti (2), Morales, Astorga, Ibsen.
Portugal 5–6 L Astorga (2), Nolz, A. Chimienti, Albuquerque.

In 2013, the men's national beach soccer team made it to the World Cup which was held in Tahiti. Unfortunately, they did not make it through the group stages and were out before any play-offs.

Results of 2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup:

Opponent Result U.S Goal Scorer's
Spain 4–5 L Futagaki, Perera, A. Chimienti.
Tahiti 3–5 L Own Goal, A. Chimienti, Perera.
United Arab Emirates 6–4 W Perera (3), Canale(2), Leopoldo.

Current squad

The following 10 players were named to the roster for the 2017 Visit Puerto Vallarta Cup.[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
GK Juan Cervantes
GK Chris Toth
DF Christian Blandon
DF Adriano Dos Santos
DF Jonathan Greenfield
No. Position Player
DF Oscar Reyes
DF David Mondragon
FW Jason Leopoldo
FW Nick Perera
FW Lucas Roque

Additional Information

The field that beach soccer is played on is much smaller than a traditional football field but still rectangular in shape. It's generally 36 meters long and 27 meters wide[3] with penalty areas on each end of the field within about 9 meters of the goal and is marked by yellow flags.[4] The sand on the field is also required to be at least 40 centimeters deep as the players are required to be barefoot. Beach soccer goals are smaller than normal regulation soccer goals. They are 2.2 meters tall and 5.5 meters wide.

There are four referees involved in a beach soccer game. Two of the referees are on the field during the game, the third referee patrols and manages the bench and the fourth and final referee keeps time with a stopwatch on the sidelines.

References

  1. ↑ FIFA.com (2015-07-02). "Beach Soccer: a quick guide to the key rules". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  2. ↑ "Beach Soccer National Team Names Roster for the Visit Puerto Vallarta Cup 2017". USSoccer.com. October 19, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Beach Soccer Laws of the Game". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  4. ↑ "Beach soccer". Wikipedia. 2017-10-29.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.