Futsal Briefs

U.S. National Team goes 3-1 in CONCACAF warm-up

The U.S. Futsal National Team completed a stage of preparation for the CONCACAF Futsal Championship by winning three of four games against Guatemalan professional teams.

Keith Tozer’s team returns to Guatemala at the end of June for the CONCACAF Futsal Championship, a qualifier for the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup. The CONCACAF tourney takes place July 2-8 at the Domo Polideportivo in Guatemala City. The U.S., in Group A, is scheduled to play Panama at 8 p.m. (Eastern Time) on July 2, then faces either Canada or El Salvador at 8 p.m. on July 3. Its final game in group play is against host Guatemala at 10 p.m. on July 4.

The semifinals will take place July 6, with the Group B winner facing the Group A runner-up at 8 p.m. ET and the Group A winner taking on the Group B runner-up at 10 p.m. ET.

The two semifinal winners play for the championship at 8 p.m. on July 8. The losers will play for third-place at 4 p.m. that same day. All four semifinalists will advance to the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

third-place match scheduled for 4 p.m. ET that same day, though all four teams in the semifinals will advance to the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

-- U. S. Soccer

After beating favorites Iran, host Thailand falls to Japan in AFC Futsal final

Japan took a 6-1 finals victory over opponent Thailand June 2 to capture its second Asian Football Confederation Futsal Championship in 12 years.

Thailand went into the game in Bankok following an epic 5-4 extra-time win that ended chances for Iran, the traditional favorites, to take an 11th title in 12 tournaments. Japan advanced with a 3-0 win over Australia. Before the semifinal win, Japan coach Miguel Rodrigo had expressed concerns over his team’s inability to convert scoring opportunities.

-- http://www.aseanfootball.org