2021 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship explained

Tourney Name:CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship
Year:2021
Other Titles:2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup CONCACAF qualifier
Size:250px
Country:Costa Rica
City:San Rafael de Alajuela
Dates:17–23 May
Num Teams:11
Confederations:1
Venues:1
Cities:1
Count:2
Matches:23
Goals:211
Top Scorer: Frank Velásquez (11 goals)
Player: Rubén Batres
Goalkeeper: Eliodoro Portillo
Young Player: Antonio Chávez
Prevseason:2019
Nextseason:2023

The 2021 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship was the ninth edition of the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship, the premier beach soccer tournament contested by North, Central American and Caribbean men's national teams and organised the governing body of football in North America, CONCACAF. The tournament took place at the Sports Complex Fedefutbol-Plycem in San Rafael District, Alajuela, Costa Rica between 17 and 23 May 2021, with 12 nations contesting the title.[1] [2]

Mexico were the defending champions, but lost in the third-place match. El Salvador dominated the tournament, scoring fifty goals in six matches, and won their second title after beating the United States in the final, while Guatemala defeated Mexico to finish third.

The championship also acted as the CONCACAF qualification tournament for the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. El Salvador and the United States, as the top two teams, qualified for the World Cup as the representatives from CONCACAF.

Teams

A total of 12 teams entered the tournament.[1] [2]

Teamdata-sort-type="number"AppearancePrevious best performance
7th
4th
(hosts) 9th
1st
8th
4th
5th
(title holders) 9th
4th
5th
4th
9th

Draw

The draw to split the 12 teams into three groups of four was held at 11:00 EST on 8 March 2021 at CONCACAF headquarters in Miami, United States.[1] [2] [3]

The procedure was as follows:[4]

The teams were first divided into four pots of three based on their CONCACAF Beach Soccer Ranking as of December 2019. The highest ranked teams were placed in Pot 1, down through to the lowest ranked teams placed in Pot 4. The three teams in Pot 1 were seeded and each automatically assigned to the head of one of the groups. The teams from Pots 2–4 were then drawn, drawing all teams from one pot before moving onto the next. From each pot, the first team drawn was placed into Group A, the second team drawn placed into Group B and the final team drawn placed into Group C.

width=250Pot 1 (seeds)width=220Pot 2width=220Pot 3width=220Pot 4
valign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top

Officials

The following 15 officials that will referee the tournament were revealed on 5 May.[5]

Squads

Each team had to submit a squad of 12 players (including a minimum of two goalkeepers), from an initial provisional squad of 20 players (Regulations Articles 10.1; 10.2).

The final rosters were revealed on 11 May.[6]

Players and staff were required to take regular COVID-19 tests during the competition, in respect to health and safety controls regarding the COVID-19 pandemic:

Group stage

Each team earns three points for a win in regulation time, two points for a win in extra time, one point for a win in a penalty shoot-out, and no points for a defeat. The top two teams from each group and the two best third placed teams advance to the quarter-finals.[1] [2]

TiebreakersThe ranking of teams in each group is determined as follows (Regulations Article 12.5):[9]
  1. Points obtained in all group matches;
  2. Points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question;
  3. Goal difference in the matches played between the teams in question;
  4. Number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Fair play points in all group matches (only one deduction could be applied to a player in a single match):
  7. Drawing of lots.

All times are local, CST (UTC−6).[10]

Group A

--------

Group B

--------

Group C

--------

Ranking of third-placed teams

Since Group A consisted of three teams, for the two third placed teams from Groups B and C, their results against the teams finishing in fourth place in their groups were discounted for this ranking.

Knockout stage

20 May was allocated as a rest day.[10]

Semi-finals

Winners qualify for the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

Final

Awards

Individual awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:[11]

width=300Golden Ball (Best player)
Ruben Batres
Golden Boot (Top scorer)
Frank Velásquez
11 goals
Golden Glove (Best goalkeeper)
Eliodoro Portillo
Best Young Player
Antonio Chávez
Fair Play Award

Top goalscorers

Players with at least 5 goals are listed

11 goals
10 goals
9 goals
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals

Final standings

Qualified for the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
RankTeam
4
5–8
9–11

Qualified teams for FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup

The following two teams from CONCACAF qualify for the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

TeamQualified ondata-sort-type="number"Previous appearances in FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup1
only FIFA era (since 2005)
5 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2019)
4 (2008, 2009, 2011, 2013)

1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Costa Rica to host 2021 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship!. Beach Soccer Worldwide. 25 February 2021. 26 February 2021. 24 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210424141440/https://beachsoccer.com/news/costa-rica-to-host-2021-concacaf-beach-soccer-championship. dead.
  2. Web site: Costa Rica announced as host for 2021 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship. CONCACAF. 25 February 2021. 26 February 2021.
  3. Web site: Official draw distributes teams at the Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship. Beach Soccer Worldwide. 8 March 2021. 9 March 2021.
  4. Web site: OFFICIAL DRAW / 2021 CONCACAF BEACH SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP. CONCACAF. 8 March 2021. 9 March 2021.
  5. Web site: Officials Appointed for 2021 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship. 6 May 2021. CONCACAF.
  6. Web site: 2021 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship final rosters confirmed. 11 May 2021. 19 May 2021. CONCACAF.
  7. Web site: 2021 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship Update – Monday, May 17. 17 May 2021. 19 May 2021. CONCACAF.
  8. Web site: 2021 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship Update – Tuesday, May 18, 2021. 18 May 2021. 19 May 2021. CONCACAF.
  9. Web site: Regulations CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship 2021. CONCACAF.
  10. Web site: Match Schedule – CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship 2021. CONCACAF.
  11. Web site: El Salvador’s Batres, Velasquez among CBSC award winners. CONCACAF. 24 May 2021. 25 May 2021.