Afghanistan’s national futsal team has advanced to the Round of 16 stage of the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024 in Uzbekistan after ending the group stage as one of the top four third-placed teams.
FIFA confirmed the team’s advancement on Sunday after the last of the group stage matches wrapped up.
The team recorded one win and two losses in the group stage.
Afghanistan’s first match in the knockout stage will be on Wednesday, 25 September, against Paraguay. The match will be played at the Humo Arena in Tashkent.
The 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup is the tenth edition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, and a total of 24 teams qualified for the tournament.
Sunday was the last day of group stage matches.
Of the 24 qualifiers, four made their debut: Afghanistan, France, New Zealand and Tajikistan.
Afghanistan’s and Tajikistan’s qualification, along with Iran and hosts Uzbekistan, means that for the first time, four nations from Central Asia qualified for the World Cup.
The knockout stage kicks off on Tuesday, September 24, when Brazil faces Costa Rica at 5.30pm at the Bukhara Universal Sports Complex, in Bukhara.
This match will be followed at 8pm on the same day when Netherlands come up against Ukraine at the Humo Arena in Tashkent.
Fans across Afghanistan can still tune in to watch this stage of the tournament on Ariana Television, which is the official broadcaster of the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024.