Futsal’s first Finalissima kicks off on Thursday at Parque Roca in Buenos Aires where European and world champions Portugal take on Paraguay before hosts Argentina challenge Spain.
The program
Thursday September 15
Semi-finals
Paraguay – Portugal (5 p.m. local, 10 p.m.)
Argentina – Spain (19h45 locales, 00h45)
Sunday September 18
Match for third place (2 p.m. local, 7 p.m.)
Final (4:45 p.m. local time, 9:45 p.m.) Argentina / Spain – Portugal / Paraguay
If one of the semi-finals ends in a draw, the two teams will be directly decided by a penalty shootout. Only the final will give rise to an extension.
The context
As part of the expansion of cooperation between UEFA and CONMEBOLthe Finalissima de futsal is a four-team final tournament involving Portugal, winners of the 2022 UEFA European Futsal Championship, third-placed Spain, Argentina, winners of the Copa América de Futsal de la CONMEBOL 2022, and Paraguay, finalist.
Presentation of the semi-finals
After winning a first World Cup et kept the EURO in the last 12 months, Portugal can achieve a unique hat-trick in Buenos Aires. The Portuguese have called up 11 players from the 14 who triumphed in February in Amsterdam, with Tiago Brito absent through injury and his replacement Mário Freitas being one of three players in the national team’s clean list, alongside the emerging talents Hugo Neves and Silvestre Ferreira.
Spain may have retained the European titles in the Under-19 and Women’s categories, but the Trans-Pyrenees have not won a single A crown since the defeat in the EURO Futsal 2018 final once morest Portugal, which also knocked them out of the 2021 World Cup and Futsal EURO 2022.
Among the players eager to put the dots on the i is Antonio Pérez. Spain’s star of success at the U19 Futsal EURO 2019he is in the squad, in the defensive position previously occupied by his teammate at Barça Ortiz, who ended his long international career at the end of EURO futsal 2022.
Where to watch the Futsal Finalissima on TV and online in Europe
Albania: ART
Bosnia and Herzegovina: BHRT
Bulgaria: BNT
Hungary: MTVA
Lithuania: LRT
Portugal: RTP, Canal 11
Spain: TVE
Ukraine: Suspilne
Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom : UEFA.tv