Official Futsal World Cup squads revealed: Discover their top stars including 02 Atlas Lions and 02 Moroccans in the ranks of France
HIBAPRESS-RABAT-FIFA
The most talented FIFA Futsal World Cup™ in history is about to get underway. The official squads for Uzbekistan 2024 have been revealed and some exceptional talent will be showcased in Andijan, Bukhara and Tashkent between 14 September and 6 October.
The official lists
Ferrão (Brazil) and Sergio Lozano (Spain) have both recovered from serious injuries to qualify. The Brazilian pivot, little used in the last 18 months, was brought in by Marquinhos Xavier, and Fede Vidal called upon his legendary all-rounder, who has recovered from a fourth ACL operation on his right knee.
Ten of the men who featured in Portugal’s victory over Lithuania in 2021 will be there. In his first World Cup in 20 years without the famous Ricardinho, Jorge Braz’s squad includes three of the best players on the planet in Erick Mendonça, Pany Varela and Zicky, as well as 21-year-old phenomenon Kutchy. Cristian Borruto, Alan Brandi, Nico Sarmiento, Pablo Taborda and Kiki Vaporaki, who helped Argentina triumph at Colombia 2016, will be looking for a second gold medal. Ángel Claudino, who scored a magnificent goal in the 2-1 defeat to Portugal in the 2021 final, is another asset for coach Matías Lucuix.
Brazil can count on Ferrão, voted Best Player three times, and Pito, an extraordinary player, who many consider the best in the world at the moment. Marquinhos’ group can also count on talented and experienced professionals such as Guitta, Marlon and Dyego. Spain has its best team in a long time. In addition to having three excellent goalkeepers, they will be able to count on players like Tomaz, Lozano, Adolfito, Catela and Miguel Mellado.
Other top 10 contenders in the FIFA Men’s Futsal World Ranking are also strong performers, including Moslem Oladghobad and Hossein Tayyebi (RI Iran), Soufian Charraoui and Soufiane El-Mesrar (Morocco), Douglas Júnior and Leo Higuita (Kazakhstan), Muhammad Osamanmusa and Suphawut Thueanklang (Thailand), and Abdessamad Mohammed and Souheil Mouhoudine (France). In a testament to the magnitude of the Uzbekistan 2024 event, Kritsada Wongkaeo recently retired from professional football to try to compete in his fourth FIFA Futsal World Cup. The 36-year-old hasn’t had much time to prove himself, but he has managed to convince Thailand coach Miguel Rodrigo.
Uzbekistan, ranked eleventh in the world, are determined to honour their passionate fans, who will provide a wild atmosphere. Ilkhomjon Khamroev, Khusniddin Nishonov and Ikhtiyor Ropiev have the class to put on a great performance, and 19-year-old Fazliddin Botirov is showing great promise. Croatian icons Dario Marinović and Franko Jelovčić, who have enjoyed remarkable club careers, will finally be able to play on futsal’s biggest stage at the ages of 34 and 33 respectively, while New Zealand captain Dylan Manickum is set to make history by appearing in his second FIFA tournament. The 32-year-old has represented Auckland City at the last two FIFA Club World Cups™, taking on the likes of Fabinho, N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema at the Saudi Arabia 2023 Championship.
Afghanistan, who will be taking part in their first FIFA competition since 1948, are banking on youth. They have an incredible selection of four of the eight teenagers called up to take part in the tournament, namely Fazliddin Botirov, Mehran Gholami, Bahman Gorgej and Mohammad Moradi. Other key magicians are Ayoub Boukhari (Netherlands), Minor Cabalceta (Costa Rica), Wilmer Cabarcas (Venezuela), Helber (Angola), Jonathan Hernández (Cuba), Igor Korsun (Ukraine), Alfonso Maquensi (Panama), Damian Mareco (Paraguay), Dilshod Salomov (Tajikistan), Marvin Sandoval (Guatemala) and Ali Shoshan (Libya).
