# 2023 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualification (UEFA)

The 2023 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup European Qualifiers was a beach soccer tournament contested by European beach soccer national teams who are members of UEFA. The tournament decided the four qualifiers that will go to the 2023 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. This event took place from 2–9 July in Baku, Azerbaijan. The tournament was multi-stage, consisting of a pre-qualifier, final group stage round, and a knockout stage with placement matches.
Spain were the defending champions of the tournament after winning the 2021 edition, but were unable to defend their title as they lost in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup play-offs to Italy. There were no semifinals and finals, unlike in 2021; the tournament concluded after the quarterfinals, the winners of which earned UEFA's four bids to the 2023 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. These bids were won by Italy, Belarus, Ukraine, and Portugal. Olli Romrig of Germany finished as the leading goalscorer with ten goals, ahead of Denmark's Axel Damm and Switzerland's Noël Ott, both of whom finished runners-up with seven goals.

## Format

The competition will begin with a pre-qualifier stage from July 2 – July 4.
The final stage will be held from July 5 – July 9.
The 16 teams will be split into four groups of four. Teams will three points for a win in normal time, two points for a win in extra-time, and one point for a win on penalties. The top two finishers in each group will go through to the knockout phase. Thereafter, quarter-finals, semi-finals, a third-place play-off and final will unfold.

## Teams

The following countries are competing in the European qualifiers either by achieving a position in the Beach Soccer World Rankings or by qualifying from the preliminaries, held from 2 to 4 July.
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Denmark
* Estonia
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Italy
* Lithuania
* Moldova
* Poland
* Portugal
* Spain
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
    1. Pre-qualifier teams

## Pre-qualifier teams

In the Qualifiers for the remaining three places in the European Qualifiers will take part:
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Greece
* Lithuania
* Malta
* Norway
* Sweden

## Draw

The draw for both the pre-qualifier stage and final stage were held on 15 June 2023.

## First group stage

Each team earns three points for a win in regulation time, two points for a win in extra time, one point for a win in a penalty shoot-out, and no points for a defeat.
All times are local, AZT (UTC+4).

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | W+ | WP | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Denmark | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 6 | Second group stage |
| 2 | Greece | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 3 | Second group stage |
| 3 | Norway | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 13 | −11 | 0 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | W+ | WP | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Lithuania | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 9 | Second group stage |
| 2 | Czech Republic | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 6 | |
| 3 | Sweden | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Malta | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 12 | −8 | 0 | |

## Second group stage

As per the regulations of the second group stage draw, the statistically best qualifier from the first group stage was automatically allocated to position B3; this was Lithuania.
The other three qualifiers (Group A, Group B and the best runner-up) were placed into the groups via a draw, made after the conclusion of the first group stage. All four teams were placed in one pot. The first team drawn out was placed into Group A, second into B and so on; they were allocated to position 4 in their respective groups.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | W+ | WP | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Italy | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 9 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Moldova | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Estonia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 13 | −3 | 3 | 9th–12th place play-offs |
| 4 | Azerbaijan (H) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 0 | 13th–16th place play-offs |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | W+ | WP | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Ukraine | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 8 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Spain | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Poland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 3 | 9th–12th place play-offs |
| 4 | Lithuania | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 14 | −10 | 0 | 13th–16th place play-offs |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | W+ | WP | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Portugal | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 10 | +10 | 9 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | France | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Germany | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 15 | +2 | 3 | 9th–12th place play-offs |
| 4 | Greece | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 18 | −12 | 0 | 13th–16th place play-offs |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | W+ | WP | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Belarus | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 10 | +17 | 9 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Denmark | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 14 | −2 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Turkey | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 19 | −10 | 3 | 9th–12th place play-offs |
| 4 | Switzerland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 15 | −5 | 0 | 13th–16th place play-offs |

## 13th–16th place play-offs

The teams finishing in fourth place in the groups of the second group stage faced each other in consolation matches to determine 13th through 16th place in the final standings.
| 13th–16th place semi-finals | 13th–16th place semi-finals | 13th place match | 13th place match |
| 8 July | 8 July |
| Switzerland (a.e.t.) | 6 |
| Switzerland (a.e.t.) | 6 | 9 July | 9 July |
| Greece | 5 | 9 July | 9 July |
| Greece | 5 | Switzerland | 6 (4) |
| 8 July | 8 July | | Switzerland | 6 (4) |
| 8 July | 8 July | Azerbaijan (p) | 6 (5) |
| Azerbaijan | 3 | Azerbaijan (p) | 6 (5) |
| Lithuania | 2 | | |
| Lithuania | 2 | 15th place match | 15th place match |
| | | 9 July | 9 July |
| | | Lithuania (p) | 4 (6) |
| | | Greece | 4 (5) |

### 13th place match
## 9th–12th place play-offs

The teams finishing in third place in the groups of the second group stage faced each other in consolation matches to determine 9th through 12th place in the final standings.
| 9th–12th place semi-finals | 9th–12th place semi-finals | 9th place match | 9th place match |
| 8 July | 8 July |
| Germany | 4 (4) |
| Germany | 4 (4) | 9 July | 9 July |
| Turkey (p) | 4 (5) | 9 July | 9 July |
| Turkey (p) | 4 (5) | Turkey (p) | 3 (4) |
| 8 July | 8 July | | Turkey (p) | 3 (4) |
| 8 July | 8 July | Estonia | 3 (3) |
| Estonia (a.e.t.) | 5 | Estonia | 3 (3) |
| Poland | 4 | | |
| Poland | 4 | 11th place match | 11th place match |
| | | 9 July | 9 July |
| | | Poland | 8 |
| | | Germany | 6 |

### 9th place match
## FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup play-offs

Winners will qualify for 2023 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

## Statistics
### Goalscorers

There were 339 goals scored in 45 matches, for an average of 7.53 goals per match.
10 goals
* Olli Romrig
7 goals
* Axel Damm
* Noël Ott
6 goals
* Ihar Bryshtsel
* Christian Biermann
* Mantas Makutunovičius
5 goals
* Aleh Hapon
* Gustav Madsen
* Audrius Plytnikas
* Rui Coimbra
* Léo Martins
* Cem Keskin
4 goals
* Elshad Manafov
* Ramil Aliyev
* Lukas Frandsen
* Sander Lepik
* Kristian Marmor
* Jérémy Bru
* Dimitrios Alexandros Mikelatos
* Elvinas Navickas
* Jordan Santos
* Salvador Chicky
* David Ardil Navarro
* Tobias Steinemann
3 goals
* Orkhan Mammadov
* Vadzim Bokach
* Yahor Hardzetski
* Anatoliy Ryabko
* David Radosta
* Henrik Rædkjær
* Ragnar Rump
* Victor Angeletti
* Anthony Barbotti
* Kylian Varrel
* Cristoph Lüth
* Ioannis Skourtas
* Konstantinos Tsitsaris
* Alessandro Remedi
* Emmanuele Zurlo
* Dumitru Graur
* Filip Gac
* Jakub Jesionowski
* Michal Witkowski
* Bernardo Santos Martins
* Oleg Zborovskyi
2 goals
* Yauheni Novikau
* Yuri Piatrouski
* Casper Dorph
* Ryding Klaus Bradt Dewaegenaere
* Tim Engelhardt
* Jannes Peterson
* Felix Widmann
* Georgios Karakasis
* Andreas Katsoulis
* Konstantinos Koukovinis
* Theofilos Triantafyllidis
* Luca Bertacca
* Paulius Giedraitis
* Matthew Agius
* Leonid Podlesnov
* Artiom Turta
* Jakub Bistuła
* Mateusz Gruszewski
* Bernardo Lopes
* Rúben Brilhante
* Rodrigo Pinhal
* Miguel Pintado
* Pedro Garcia Paredes
* Soleiman Batis El Asri
* William Garcia
* Erik Gustafsson
* William Palmén
* Glenn Hodel
* Mehmet Aşlamacı
* Serkan Banazlı
* Andrii Borsuk
* Andrii Nerush
* Andrii Pashko
* Maksym Voitok
1 goal
* Elchin Gasimov
* Fuad Huseynov
* Jomard Bakhshaliyev
* Kamran Gurbatov
* Artsemi Drozd
* Ivan Kanstantsinau
* Kanstantsin Mahaletski
* Pavel Staskevich
* Uladzimir Ustsinovich
* Tomáš Huráb
* Lukáš Karpíšek
* Jakub Pekárek
* Michal Salak
* Carl Oscar Wegeberg
* Albert Anissimov
* Kaspar Kotter
* Priit Mäeorg
* Rasmus Munskind
* Rauno Nõmmiko
* Ervin Stüf
* Lucas Segura
* Peer Petry
* Michail Lympousis
* Dimitrios Paloumpis
* Ioannis Tsiakalos
* Leandro Casapieri
* Tommaso Fazzini
* Francesco Fabio Sciacca
* Gianmarco Genovali
* Alessandro Miceli
* Viktor Bartosevič
* Dylan Caruana
* Nicolae Ignat
* Ruslan Istrati
* Serghei Schițenco
* Alexandru Sîrghi
* Krenar Badivuku
* Pak Ling Li
* Grzegorz Brochocki
* Arkadiusz Kłopeć
* Mateusz Lisowski
* Lukasz Stanislaw Los
* Artur Popławski
* Ziober Witold
* Elinton Andrade
* Bruno Torres
* Antonio José Mayor Hernández
* Jose Manuel Arias
* Francisco Dona
* Fernando Guisado Pérez
* Sebastian Hjerpebo
* Nils Lavah
* Filip Malmström
* Gabriel Caldas
* Silvano Kessler
* Eliott Mounoud
* Patrick Rüttimann
* Sandro Spaccarotella
* Dejan Stankovic
* Efe Lorenzo Deniz
* Emrah Ekmekçi
* İsmail Turhan
* Yasin Bağcı
* Volkan Yeşilırmak
* Ihor Levchenko
* Oleksandr Poslavskyi
* Dmytro Voitenko
* Yaroslav Zavorotnyi
1 own goal
* Vadzim Bokach (against Switzerland)
* David Radosta (against Malta)
* Lukas Frandsen (against Switzerland)
* Rauno Nõmmiko (against Turkey)
* Anthony Fayos (against Portugal)
* Christian Biermann (against Greece)
* Alessandro Miceli (against Azerbaijan)
* Audrius Plytnikas (against Spain)
* Fernando Guisado Pérez (against Ukraine)
* Oliver Santiago (against Poland)
* Recep Demir (against Belarus)

## Qualified teams to the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup

The following four teams from UEFA qualify for the 2023 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
| Team | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup only FIFA era (since 2005) |
| Belarus | 9 July 2023 | 2 (2019, 2021) |
| Portugal | 9 July 2023 | 10 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021) |
| Ukraine | 9 July 2023 | 3 (2005, 2011, 2013) |
| Italy | 9 July 2023 | 8 (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019) |
| Spain | 27 September 2023 | 8 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2021) |
Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year. Ukraine originally qualified. However, on 27 September 2023, it was announced that the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine had refused to sanction the Ukrainian national team's participation in the tournament, in protest at the Belarus national team being allowed to compete, whom it believes should be barred from entering due the country's role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine previously qualified for, but also boycotted the 2021 World Cup due to its venue being in Russia. They were replaced by Spain, who statistically finished in fifth place in the UEFA qualifiers and therefore enter as lucky losers.