2007 Euro Beach Soccer League – Last chance bracket explained

Tourney Name:EBSL Last Chance Bracket
Year:2007
Dates:23 August – 26 August
Size:250px
Num Teams:12
Confederations:1
Matches:11
Goals:105
Prevseason:2006

The 2007 Euro Beach Soccer League – Last chance bracket, simply known as the Last chance bracket was an additional round of the 2007 Euro Beach Soccer League (EBSL) that was specially organised to determine the fifth and final European nation that would qualify for the 2007 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.[1] The event was organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW), in parallel with the staging of the 2007 EBSL Superfinal, taking place during the same dates (23–26 August) and in the same location of Marseille, France.

Five berths were allocated to European teams in the 2007 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, four of which were filled when Portugal, Spain, Russia and France reached the semi-finals of the Superfinal.[2] This meant there was still one final berth at the World Cup to be filled. As in 2006, in order to decide which nation would get this fifth and final spot at the World Cup, BSWW decided the prospective nations would compete in a knockout tournament called the Last chance bracket, with the winner claiming the final World Cup ticket.

Italy won the event by beating Switzerland in the final and claimed the last remaining World Cup berth.[3]

The last chance bracket was retired from use after this edition due to the establishment of a dedicated World Cup qualifying competition for UEFA nations the following year.

Teams

This round of the 2007 EBSL was a distinctly separate and unique event from the regular structure of the league, but nevertheless related to the league since it involved inviting back teams previously knocked out of World Cup qualifying contention during this year's EBSL to compete in the event for a second chance at qualification, as well as four wild-card entries, as listed below.

From the Preliminary roundThese nations were eliminated from the EBSL in the preliminary round
From Division AThese nations competed in Division A but failed to qualify for the Superfinal
From the SuperfinalThese nations finished in 5th and 6th in the Superfinal
Wild-cardsThese nations had not yet competed in this year's EBSL until this point

Results

The success of teams in this season's EBSL also affected what round the nations began their last chance bracket campaign's in as follows:

Key:

A3 This team finished 3rd in group A of the group stage of the Superfinal

B3 This team finished 3rd in group B of the group stage of the Superfinal

DA indicates this team was knocked out of the EBSL at the end of the Division A regular season

PR indicates this team was knocked out of the EBSL at the end of the Preliminary round

WC indicates a wild-card entry (these teams had not competed in the 2007 EBSL until this point)

World Cup qualifiers

The following table shows the five nations qualified to the 2007 World Cup and their qualification route.

NationQualification route
1 Superfinal semifinalists
2
3
4
5 Last chance bracket Winners

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: European league to kick-off on 28 June. https://web.archive.org/web/20170813013128/http://www.fifa.com/beachsoccerworldcup/news/y=2007/m=3/news=european-league-kick-off-june-113956.html. dead. August 13, 2017. fifa.com. 23 March 2007. 12 August 2017.
  2. Web site: Russians heading for Rio. fifa.com. 23 August 2007. 5 August 2017.
  3. Web site: Italy complete European quintet. https://web.archive.org/web/20170813054314/http://www.fifa.com/beachsoccerworldcup/news/y=2007/m=8/news=italy-complete-european-quintet-582009.html. dead. August 13, 2017. fifa.com. 26 August 2007. 12 August 2017.