New Zealand’s Futsal Whites have been drawn against Spain, Kazakhstan and Libya in their group at the FIFA Futsal World Cup.
In the recently-released FIFA rankings for men’s national teams, Spain are #3, Kazakakhstan #8 and Libya #50, compared to New Zealand’s #19.
The tournament takes place between September 14 and October 6, 2024, in three host cities in Uzbekistan: Andijan, Bukhara and Tashkent.
For the Futsal Whites, it will be their first-ever World Cup.
The draw was made in Samarkand’s historic Registan Square on Monday May 27, 2024.
Watch a full replay of the draw here:
Tournament draw
# indicates current rating in latest FIFA world rankings
Group A
- Uzbekistan (#11)
- Netherlands (#36)
- Paraguay (#13)
- Costa Rica (#31)
Group B
- Brazil (#1)
- Cuba (#78)
- Croatia (#16)
- Thailand (#9)
Group C
- Argentina (#5)
- Ukraine (#12)
- Afghanistan (#30)
- Angola (#47)
Group D
- Spain (#3)
- Kazakhstan (#8)
- New Zealand (#19)
- Libya (#50)
Group E
- Portugal (#2)
- Panama (#44)
- Tajikistan (#34)
- Morocco (#6)
Group F
- IR Iran (#4)
- Venezuela (#21)
- Guatemala (#40)
- France (#10)
Group fixtures
Game to be played on Sunday September 15, 2024 (NZT)
New Zealand v Libya
Andijan Universal Sports Complex, Andijan, Uzbekistan, 10pm (NZT)
Game to be played on Thursday September 19, 2024 (NZT)
New Zealand v Spain
Andijan Universal Sports Complex, Andijan, Uzbekistan, 1am (NZT)
Game to be played on Saturday September 21, 2024 (NZT)
New Zealand v Kazakhstan
Humo Arena, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 10.30pm (NZT)
About the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup
The six group winners, six runners-up and the four best third-placed teams will go into a Round of 16 knockout stage.
The winners go forward to quarter-finals, before sudden death semi-finals and the final.
Host cities
The three host cities for the FIFA Futsal World Cup, the first FIFA event to be staged in a Central Asian country, have been decided, with the capital, Tashkent, being joined by the ancient Silk Road trading centre of Bukhara and the city of Andijan in the Fergana Valley.
Champions
1989: Brazil
1992: Brazil
1996: Brazil
2000: Spain
2004: Spain
2008: Brazil
2012: Brazil
2016: Argentina
2021: Portugal
Golden Ball winners
1989: Victor Hermans (Netherlands)
1992: Jorginho (Brazil)
1996: Manoel Tobias (Brazil)
2000: Manoel Tobias (Brazil)
2004: Falcao (Brazil)
2008: Falcao (Brazil)
2012: Neto (Brazil)
2016: Fernando Wilhelm (Argentina)
2021: Ricardinho (Portugal)
Most participations at a FIFA Futsal World Cup
Not including Uzbekistan 2024
9 – Spain
9 – Argentina
8 – IR Iran
7 – Australia
7 – Egypt
7 – Italy
7 – Paraguay
7 – Russia
6 – Portugal
6 – Thailand
6 – USA
5 – Costa Rica
5 – Cuba
5 – Guatemala
5 – Japan
5 – Ukraine
4 – Czechia
4 – Netherlands
4 – Solomon Islands
3 – Belgium
3 – China PR
3 – Kazakhstan
3 – Morocco
3 – Panama
2 – Colombia
2 – Libya
2 – Serbia
2 – Uzbekistan
2 – Vietnam
1 – Algeria
1 – Angola
1 – Azerbaijan
1 – Canada
1 – Chinese Taipei
1 – Croatia
1 – Denmark
1 – Hungary
1 – Kuwait
1 – Lithuania
1 – Malaysia
1 – Mexico
1 – Mozambique
1 – Nigeria
1 – Poland
1 – Saudi Arabia
1 – Venezuela
1 – Zimbabwe
