TEHRAN – Iran will start the 2022 Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup on Tuesday with a match against Paraguay. The Persians are looking to win the title for the fourth time.

In its eleventh edition, the Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup is the most prestigious annual competition in the sand version of the game. The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup takes place every two years.

Team Melli were drawn to Group B along with the U.S., Japan and Paraguay. Group A consists of the UAE, Brazil, Spain and Saudi Arabia.

After a round-robin group stage, the top two teams from each group will meet in the semifinals and subsequent finals. The third and fourth place teams will compete for places 5th-8th. All matches take place on the main stadium at Kite Beach in Dubai.

“We know how strong our opponents are. We played Japan and Paraguay in the tournament last year and the U.S. have been added to the group,” Iran interim coach Ali Naderi said.

“Iran are fully prepared for the tournament and we want to steal the show with our young players in Dubai,” he added.

Iran’s fixture:

Tue, Nov 1: Iran v Paraguay

Wed, Nov. 2: Iran v The U.S.

Thur, Nov. 3: Iran v Japan

Placement or Semifinal / Final matches: Nov 4, 5, 6 (two matchdays TBD).

Iran squad:
Moslem Mesigar, Mostafa Kiani, Mohammad Masoumizadeh, Ali Mirshekari, Mehdi Mirjalili, Movahed Mohammadpour, Saeid Piramoon, Mohammad Ahmadzadeh, Mohammadali Mokhtari, Amirhossein Akbari, Mehdi Shirmohammadi and Hamid Behzadpour

Russia are the most successful team, having won four tournaments.

Iran have won the title three times.