Courtesy: UEFA.com


Futsal World Cup draw details

Thursday 30 June 2011

Two-time FIFA Futsal World Cup winners Spain are among 41 teams awaiting the European preliminary and main round draw for the 2012 edition at 14.00CET on Thursday 7 July. Europe has been allocated seven berths in the expanded 24-team finals in Thailand from 2 to 18 November 2012.

Qualifying will be in three stages:
1 Preliminary round with 20 teams (19 to 23 October 2011)
2 Main round with 28 teams (14 to 18 December 2011)
3 Two-legged play-offs with 14 teams (25 to 28 March; 8 to 11 April)

The 21 top-ranked sides will be excused the preliminary round but the others enter the first of the two draws in Nyon. The 20 teams, including qualifying debutants Norway, San Marino and Switzerland plus UEFA Futsal EURO 2012 qualifiers Turkey, have been split into four seeding categories by coefficient and each group will contain one nation from each section.

Latvia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have also be assigned as mini-tournament hosts and will be drawn separately and placed in each group according to their seeding. The group winners and (two) best runners-up will progress to the main round.

In the main round draw the contenders have been split into four seeding categories, with the top section including European champions Spain, who will attempt to repeat their 2000 and 2004 World Cup wins having lost the 2008 final on penalties to hosts Brazil. The draw procedure will be similar to that for the preliminary round. The top two teams in each main round group will progress to the play-offs.

Preliminary round draw

Pot 1 – hosts
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (seeding position 1)
Latvia (1)
Georgia (2)
Bulgaria (2)
Estonia (3)

Pot 2 – seeding position 4
Malta
Norway
San Marino
Switzerland

Pot 3 – seeding position 3
Albania
Montenegro
Armenia
England

Pot 4 – seeding position 2
France
Andorra
Cyprus
Turkey*

Pot 5 – seeding position 1
Greece
Moldova
Finland


Main round draw

Pot 6 – hosts
Italy* (seeding position 1)
Portugal* (1)
Czech Republic* (1)
Azerbaijan* (2)
Hungary (2)
Slovenia* (2)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (3)

Pot 7 – seeding position 4
Winners preliminary round Groups A-E
Preliminary round best runners-up 1
(Preliminary round best runners-up 2)

Pot 8 – seeding position 3
Croatia
Netherlands
Poland
Kazakhstan
Israel
Lithuania

Pot 9 – seeding position 2
Romania*
Belarus
Belgium
Slovakia

Pot 10 – seeding position 1
Spain*
Russia*
Ukraine*
Serbia*

*Will compete at UEFA Futsal EURO 2012 in Croatia




Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com