Courtesy: UEFA.com


UEFA Futsal EURO kicks off in Antwerp

UEFA Futsal EURO 2014 begins on Tuesday in Antwerp with Spain aiming for a fifth straight title and 11 other nations trying to stop them – and UEFA.com has it all covered.

Monday 27 January 2014

by Paul Saffer from Antwerp

The first continental finals of the new year begin on Tuesday when Antwerp is the setting for UEFA Futsal EURO 2014.

Spain will be aiming for a fifth straight title and 11 nations will challenge them in the Belgian city. Among them are 1999 winners Russia, who came within a minute of snatching the crown two years ago in Croatia, 2003 champions Italy and former runners-up Ukraine and Portugal.

Russia kick off the finals against the Netherlands, qualifying for the first time since 2005, before hosts Belgium open against Romania. Portugal are also in Russia's section while holders Spain take on recent semi-finalists Croatia and the Czech Republic.

The group stage will be held at the Lotto Arena with two matches a day until next Tuesday before switching to the adjacent, and larger, Sportpaleis for the knockout phase over the following six days – for which the first two sides in each group qualify. All matches will be shown live on Eurosport 1 or 2.

UEFA.com's team of reporters in Antwerp will have previews, match reports, reaction, interviews and features direct from the host city in all of UEFA.com's languages. We will also have exclusive photos and videos in our UEFA Futsal EURO 2014 section, which already has interviews with all 12 teams, video previews and the rundown of the contenders and a look back at the history of the competition.

The official tournament programme is backed with features, interviews, stats and lots of exclusive content: download it now.

We also have all the latest on Twitter with the official @UEFAFutsalEURO feed, and you can join almost a quarter of a million fans by liking the official UEFA Futsal EURO Facebook page.

The UEFA.com statistics section will have all the facts and figures from Antwerp plus the latest in the race for the adidas Golden Boot for top scorer: can Torras do it again?

Our UEFA Futsal EURO 2014 Predictor competition has some great prizes courtesy of KIA: play now and win.

All 12 teams warmed up with a busy programme of friendlies – UEFA.com has all the scores and fixtures.

Tickets are priced at €10 and €5 with children under 12 admitted free.

Draw

Group A: Belgium (hosts), Ukraine, Romania
Group B: Russia, Portugal, Netherlands
Group C: Italy, Azerbaijan, Slovenia
Group D: Spain (holders), Czech Republic, Croatia






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com