Futsal World Cup qualifying draws made
Thursday, July 2, 2015
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Spain will travel to the Netherlands as they begin their bid to win a third title while debutants Denmark and Wales will meet after the preliminary and main round draws were made.
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Spain will travel to the Netherlands as they begin their bid to win a third FIFA Futsal World Cup while debutants Denmark and Wales will meet after the preliminary and main round draws were made.
Denmark and Wales, along with Sweden and Gibraltar, are making their competition debut and are among 23 teams involved in the preliminary round in October. The six group winners join the 22 highest-ranked nations in December's main round; among the groups produced, the Netherlands will host Spain, who have reached the last five finals and were winners in 2000 and 2004.
Preliminary round draw (22-25 October)
Group A: Georgia, Moldova, Andorra, Gibraltar
Group B: Greece, Montenegro, Sweden*, San Marino
Group C: France, Lithuania*, Albania, Malta
Group D: Latvia, Armenia, Cyprus*, Estonia
Group E: Israel*, England, Denmark, Wales
Group F: Finland*, Bulgaria, Switzerland
• Group winners progress to the main round.
Main round (10-13 December)
Group 1: Ukraine, Hungary*, Belgium, winner Group E
Group 2: Croatia*, Azerbaijan, Belarus, winner Group B
Group 3: Russia, Serbia, Turkey*, winner Group F
Group 4: Spain, Netherlands*, Bosnia and Herzegovina, winner Group D
Group 5: Czech Republic*, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, winner Group C
Group 6: Portugal*, Romania, Poland, Norway
Group 7: Italy*, Slovakia, FYR Macedonia, winners Group A
• Top two in each group progress to the play-offs. In the play-offs each group winner will meet a runner-up with the two-legged ties deciding Europe's seven qualifiers for Colombia.
*Hosts: preliminary round Group A, B and F hosts tbc
Road to Colombia
(15 & 22 September 2015: UEFA Futsal EURO 2016 play-offs)
22, 23, & 25 October 2015: Preliminary round
10, 11 & 13 December 2015: Main round
(2-13 February 2016: UEFA Futsal EURO 2016, Belgrade)
12 February 2016: Play-off draw, Belgrade
22 March & 12 April 2016: Play-offs
tbc: Final tournament draw, Colombia
14 September–2 October 2016: Final tournament, Colombia