Azerbaijan beats Greece in Futsal World Cup qualifying main round

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan has romped to a 7-0 away win over Greece in the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup qualifying main round, Azernews reports, citing Azertac.

The goals for the national teams were scored by Xatai Baghirov (2), Gallo (2), Rafael Vilela, Thiago Bolinha, and Johnatas Felipe.

After two rounds, Azerbaijan topped Group 6 with six points. Poland took second place with 3 points while Greece ranked third with zero point.

The 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup will be the tenth edition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, the quadrennial international futsal championship contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament host is yet to be determined.

A total of 24 teams qualify for the final tournament. At the same time, one country will qualify automatically as host, and 23 other teams will qualify from six separate continental competitions.

Notably, futsal is a ball sport played on a hard court, smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football.

The game is played between two teams of five players, one of whom is the goalkeeper. Unlike some other forms of indoor football, the game is played on a hard court surface delimited by lines; walls or boards are not used.

Azerbaijan had never qualified for the FIFA Futsal World Cup until 2016. However, the national futsal players participated in the last five editions of the European Championship.

Now the national futsal team successfully represents the country at multiple international futsal competitions, such as the FIFA Futsal World Cup and the European Championships.