Sunday, October 6, is set to deliver a thrilling FIFA Futsal World Cup final when South American giants, Argentina and Brazil face each other in a quest to take home the trophy.

Argentina beat France 3-2 last week to secure their spot in the final while Brazil took down Ukraine 3-2 in their semi-final match.

Argentina won the title in 2016 but fell short in the 2021 final, while Brazil returns to a World Cup final after 12 years.

These two teams have already faced off in a 2024 final: the CONMEBOL Copa América™ Futsal, where Brazil won 2-0.

This time, Argentina will be looking to turn the tables.

The last 10 meetings between these South American superpowers have, however, been really balanced, with Argentina winning three, Brazil winning three and four ending all square.

Experts meanwhile say Sunday’s match could go either way - that each team has a 50% chance at scooping the trophy.

Fans across Afghanistan can tune into Ariana Television from 5pm to watch the first match - between France and Ukraine, for 3rd place.

The much anticipated Uzbekistan 2024 final will follow at 7pm.

Brazil, Ukraine, Argentina and debutants France are all through to this year’s FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan after having come out tops through the groups stage, round of 16 and the quarterfinals. 

Semis will kick off on Wednesday, October 2, when Brazil face Ukraine in Tashkent.

On Thursday, October 3, Argentina will face France.

Third-place match will be played on Sunday, October 6 in Tashkent.

The final will follow later in the day.

The tournament’s most successful team so far has been Brazil with Marcel the top scorer. 

There have been 341 goals scored in 48 matches, averaging 7.1 goals per match up to the quarterfinals. Leading the pack is Brazil’s Marcel, who has scored an impressive 10 goals. 

Close behind is Argentina’s Alan Brandi with 7 goals.

Iran’s Salar Aghapour follows with 6 goals and several players are tied with 5 goals each, including Argentina’s Kevin Arrieta and Matías Rosa, Brazil’s Pito, Kazakhstan’s Arnold Knaub, and Venezuela’s Kevin Briceño.

Francis Lokoka, Abdessamad Mohammed and Raphael Reynaud discuss France beating Paraguay and reaching the FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024 quarter-finals.

For France however, making it to the semi-finals is a dream come true. Making their first ever appearance at this global event, team member Abdessamad Mohammed summed it up after they beat Paraguay. “I’m not sure we could have dreamt for more than this,” he said. 

Fellow teammate Francis Lokoka added: “It is absolutely amazing. If somebody had told me this was going to happen, I would not have believed them in my wildest dreams.”

“It is unbelievable,” said coach Raphael Reynaud. “When we came here our aim was to make it through the group stage. But we are competitors so once we’d achieved that, we told ourselves that anything was possible. We believe that we can go far in this tournament.

“What is happening here is a dream come true, but we have worked hard to get here, putting the pieces together one step at a time. It is no accident that we have come this far. You do not beat Paraguay in a World Cup quarter-final by chance.”

Ukraine has reached their first Futsal World Cup semi-final since 1996 after beating Venezuela 9-4 on Sunday to set up a Wednesday tie with Brazil, who knocked out Morocco.

The final two quarter-finals matches are on Monday and first up will be France and Paraguay. This comes after France beat Thailand 5-2 in the round of 16.

Kazakhstan meanwhile take on Argentina on Monday night, after eliminating reigning world and European champions Portugal. Argentina defeated Croatia in their round of 16 match.

Quarter-finals

30 September: France vs Paraguay (14:30, Bukhara)
30 September: Kazakhstan vs Argentina (17:00, Tashkent)

Semi-finals

Semis will get underway on Wednesday, October 2, when Ukraine face Brazil in Tashkent.

On Thursday, October 3, Kazakhstan or Argentina will face France of Paraguay.

Third-place match
This match will be played on Sunday, 6 October in Tashkent.
The final will follow later in the day.

Don’t forget to tune in to Ariana Television to watch these exciting matches - which are being broadcast live by Ariana Television Network.