The 10th FIFA Futsal World Championship in Uzbekistan will feature 24 teams, with Afghanistan, Tajikistan, New Zealand, and France making their debuts, and Portugal returning to defend their title won three years ago in Lithuania.

The first-ever FIFA tournament in Central Asia kicks off on 14 September in Bukhara and the capital, Tashkent. The eastern city of Andijan will complete the trio of venues for the 24-team competition. The 2024 edition will be the tenth in the history of the FIFA Futsal World Cup and will run until 6 October.

Futsal has grown rapidly in Uzbekistan over the past decade. The White Wolves made their debut at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in 2016 and reached the knockout stage in 2021, losing 9-8 to IR Iran in the Round of 16 in one of the most exciting matches in the tournament’s history.

Uzbekistan will be joined in the competition by four former champions – Argentina, Brazil, Portugal and Spain – and four debutants: Afghanistan, France, New Zealand and Tajikistan. Angola, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Guatemala, Iran, Kazakhstan, Libya, Morocco, Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, Thailand, Ukraine and Venezuela complete the line-up after successfully completing the 121-team qualifying process.

First-ever FIFA Futsal Ranking
Earlier this year, the first FIFA Futsal World Ranking was published for both men and women. The top six teams – Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Iran, Argentina and Morocco – will compete for the title in Uzbekistan. The launch of the qualifiers was an important milestone and strengthened the position of futsal.

Hosts Uzbekistan, the Netherlands, Paraguay and Costa Rica will compete in one of the most open groups in the history of the FIFA Futsal World Championship, while three reigning continental champions – Portugal, Panama and Morocco – will join Tajikistan in the first round.

In Group D, defending champions Spain and Kazakhstan are joined by New Zealand and newcomers Libya. Five-time champions Brazil share a group with Cuba, Croatia and up-and-coming Thailand. Afghanistan, making their first FIFA appearance since 1948, are paired with 2016 champions Argentina, Ukraine and Angola.

A clash of titans and new rivalries
Brazil and Spain won the first seven editions of the FIFA Futsal World Championship, five and two times respectively. Argentina and Portugal have since added their names to the trophy. Several emerging powers are threatening to do the same at this year’s event, which kicks off on 14 September.

Afghanistan, France, New Zealand and Tajikistan will be making their tournament debuts, while Croatia and the Netherlands will be returning for the first time in almost a quarter of a century.

Superstars to watch
A total of 336 players will be competing for the FIFA Futsal World Cup trophy in Uzbekistan, with megastars in abundance. FC Barcelona’s Ferrao and Sergio Lozano have both overcome serious injuries.

The Brazilian pivot has been called up by Marquinhos Xavier despite his limited involvement over the past 18 months, while Sergio Lozano’s resilience has seen him recover from a fourth anterior cruciate ligament operation on his right knee.

Spain have an interesting mix of experience and youth, with plenty of quality. As well as three outstanding goalkeepers, they have the likes of Tomaz, Cortés, Adolfito, Catela and Miguel Ángel Mellado.

As well as Ferrao, a three-time World Player of the Year, Brazil also boast Pito, considered by many to be the best player in the world at the moment. Marquinhos’ group is also blessed with the outstanding and experienced professionals Guitta, Marlon and Dyego.

Ten of the men who helped Portugal defeat Lithuania in 2021 will be present. In their first World Cup without the legendary Ricardinho for 20 years, Jorge Braz’s side boast three of the world’s best players in Erick Mendonca, Pany Varela and Zicky, as well as 21-year-old phenom Kutchy.

Cristian Borruto, Alan Brandi, Nico Sarmiento, Pablo Taborda and Kiki Vaporaki, who helped Argentina triumph at Colombia 2016, will be aiming for a second gold medal. Angel Claudino, who scored a stunning goal in the 2-1 defeat to Portugal in the 2021 final, is another key figure for coach Matias Lucuix.

A tournament full of milestones and historic moments
The rest of the top ten in the FIFA Futsal World Ranking also include Moslem Oladghobad and Hossein Tayyebi (IR Iran), Soufian Charraoui and Soufiane El-Mesrar (Morocco), Douglas Junior and Leo Higuita (Kazakhstan), Muhammad Osamanmusa and Suphawut Thueanklang (Thailand) and Abdessamad Mohammed and Souheil Mouhoudine (France).

In a testament to the scale of Uzbekistan 2024, Kritsada Wongkaeo recently quit professional football to play in his fourth FIFA Futsal World Cup. Despite not having much time to prove his worth, the 36-year-old has done enough to win over Thailand coach Miguel Rodrigo.

Uzbekistan, ranked 11th in the world, are determined to repay their passionate fans in what they know will be an electric atmosphere. Ilkhomjon Khamroev, Khusniddin Nishonov and Ikhtiyor Ropiev have the class to make it happen, while 19-year-old Fazliddin Botirov is a promising prospect.

Croatian icons Dario Marinovic and Franko Jelovcic, who have enjoyed admirable club careers, will finally be playing on futsal’s biggest stage at the age of 34 and 33 respectively, while New Zealand captain Dylan Manickum will be making history by playing in his second FIFA tournament. The 32-year-old represented Auckland City at the last two FIFA Club World Cups and will join Fabinho, N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema in Saudi Arabia 2023.

Afghanistan, who will be making their first FIFA appearance since 1948, are banking on youth. Incredibly, four of the eight players who will take part in the tournament are teenagers: Mehran Gholami, Bahman Gorgej, Ali Jafari and Mohammad Moradi.

Other magicians to watch out for include Ayoub Boukhari (Netherlands), Minor Cabalceta (Costa Rica), Wilmer Cabarcas (Venezuela), Helber (Angola), Jonathan Hernández (Cuba), Igor Korsun (Ukraine), Alfonso Maquensi (Panama), Damián Mareco (Paraguay), Dilshod Salomov (Tajikistan), Marvin Sandoval (Guatemala) and Ali Shoshan (Libya).

The tournament promises to showcase the very best of futsal, from seasoned champions to exciting newcomers. With a host of superstars, historic debuts and thrilling matches to come, the stage is set for one of the most memorable FIFA Futsal World Cups in history.

Groups

Group A: Uzbekistan, Netherlands, Paraguay, Costa Rica

Group B: Brazil, Cuba, Croatia, Thailand

Group C: Argentina, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Angola

Group D: Spain, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Libya

Group E: Portugal, Panama, Tajikistan, Morocco

Group F: IR Iran, Venezuela, Guatemala, France

Martin Odegaard may not be able to play in Sunday’s North London derby due to limping out of Norway’s 2-1 UEFA Nations League win over Austria in Oslo.

After a harmless scuffle with Christoph Baumgartner on the hour mark, the Arsenal captain was left clutching his left ankle and was helped off the field in tears by team-mate Erling Haaland.

Mikel Arteta, who has already lost Declan Rice for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium clash, is facing another setback with Odegaard’s apparent injury.

“He got a small ankle sprain. We will see, maybe we use ultrasound to look at it. If we are unsure, there will be an MRI tomorrow,” team doctor Ola Sand told TV2.

Haaland lashed home his 32nd goal in 35 games for his country in the 80th minute to clinch victory after Felix Myhre’s ninth-minute opener was cancelled out by a Marcel Sabitzer effort shortly before half-time.

France bounced back from Friday’s 3-1 defeat to Italy as goals from Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembele earned them a comfortable 2-0 win over Belgium.

Didier Deschamps made a brave call before kick-off by dropping captain Kylian Mbappe to the bench, but it paid off in a convincing performance kick-started by Kolo Muani’s opener on the half-hour.

The Paris St Germain star was in the right place to lash home after Dembele’s initial effort was parried by Koen Casteels, but the Belgian goalkeeper could do nothing about Dembele’s delicious curling effort to make it 2-0 in the 57th minute.

Italy moved three points clear at the top of the group as they built on their win over France with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Israel in Budapest.

A much-changed Italian line-up grabbed the lead when Davide Frattesi chested home a Federico Dimarco cross just before half-time, then the returning Moise Kean made it 2-0 when he fired home on the rebound just past the hour mark.

Israel grabbed a late consolation when Mohammad Abu Fani prodded home through a crowded box in injury time.

Craig Bellamy’s positive start as Wales coach continued as his side flew out of the blocks in Montenegro, two goals in the first three minutes from Kieffer Moore and Harry Wilson paving the way for a 2-1 win.

In the same group, Muhammed Akturkoglu scored a hat-trick as Turkey cruised to a 3-1 win over Iceland in Izmir.

Elsewhere, Benjamin Sesko also scored a hat-trick in Slovenia’s 3-0 win over Kazakhstan, while Romania beat Lithuania 3-1.

Harry Kane is aiming for 100 international goals as he tries to become the 10th male England player to score 100 caps against Finland on Tuesday.

After winning his 99th cap in a routine 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, Kane will lead England out at Wembley as they look to make it two Nations League wins from two against the Finns.

The 31-year-old’s tally currently stands at 66 since netting on his debut as a substitute against Lithuania in 2015, while he has been the country’s all-time leading goalscorer since overtaking Wayne Rooney’s previous record of 53 in March last year.

Despite England reaching the final of Euro 2024 during the summer, the Bayern Munich striker was criticised for his overall play as he failed to find the kind of form that saw him score 44 times in his debut season with the Bundesliga side.

Asked whether he would be following up his landmark appearance by targeting a century of goals for his country, he said: “Yeah. What is it, 34 goals (to go)?

“One hundred caps have come round so quick, especially the last few years playing three major tournaments in such a short space of time. In those years I’ve done around 15, 16, 17 caps a year whereas a normal year would be 10.

“The goals were similar. I felt I was on 30 goals and then I went to 50 and then 60. It is definitely there and definitely possible. I feel like I am in a good place and these are good targets to try to reach.

“Some people may see them as unrealistic but I would rather go for something unrealistic and not quite make it rather than be comfortable just saying I will be happy with 70 or 80 goals.”

Kane averaged almost a goal a game for Bayern last season, while his England record is slightly above one goal in two.

He acknowledged that the strike-rate of the world’s top goal-scorers has risen significantly in recent years, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at their peak regularly scoring more goals in LaLiga than the number of matches they had played.

That trend has since been observed in the Premier League, with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland scoring 36 goals in 35 games during his debut season in England.

“It (one in two) probably was good back then but nowadays the bar has shifted a little bit,” said Kane. “When you see even my numbers last year and Haaland, Ronaldo, Messi, the standard is getting higher than that.

“One in two is not a bad record, don’t get me wrong, but maybe we have all set the standards and expect more from ourselves.

“My England record is a bit better than that and I hope to maintain that for as many caps as I have.”

Kane, who is set to be awarded a gold cap on the Wembley pitch ahead of kick-off against Finland, will become the first player to reach 100 appearances since Rooney achieved the feat in November 2014.

“To consistently play at a high level is really difficult,” he said. “That’s why I have so much respect for Ronaldo, Messi and these players.

“To be able to do it for 15 years or 20 years is some mindset and some achievement. For now, 100 caps, that’s part of the reason I am really proud.

“As an England number nine you come up against some good competition, some of the best strikers in England trying to take your place.”