Vietnam vs Brazil in FIFA Futsal World Cup opener
VOV.VN - The Vietnamese national futsal team will take on Brazil in their opening match of the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup on September 13 in Lithuania.
The opening fixture will prove to be a difficult challenge for the team led by coach Pham Minh Giang, particularly as Brazil boast a proud history in the competition having won the FIFA Futsal World Cup on five occasions.
Previously, Vietnam overwhelmed Brazil 3-2 in a friendly match in Ho Chi Minh City in 2013, becoming the second Asian team, after Iran, to beat five-time champions Brazil.
The other fixtures in the group will see Vietnam play Panama on September 16. Panama are six places above Vietnam in the FIFA world rankings, although at this stage their squad for the tournament are relatively unknown.
Vietnam will then face the Czech Republic in the final match of Group D on September 19. The world’s 16th-placed team are judged to have a strong squad with better physical and technical skills compared to the Vietnamese players, with many of their key footballers playing in futsal tournaments in Italy and Spain.
Head coach Pham Minh Giang said he believes his national team will have to beat Panama by a wide margin in order to be among the best third-placed teams to progress through to the quarter-finals.
The 2021 Futsal World Cup is due to take place in Lithuania between September 12 and October 3, with a total of 24 teams competing across six groups.
The top 12 teams and the best four third-placed teams will then progress to the Round of 16.
This year marks the second time that Vietnam have made it to the FIFA Futsal World Cup.
Back in the 2016, Vietnam pased group matches but lost to Russia in the knock-out stage and finally received the fair play awards from FIFA.
