The 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup was the sixth edition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, the quadrennial international futsal championship contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was the first tournament to use the term "World Cup". It was held between 30 September and 19 October 2008 in Brazil. It was the only Futsal World Cup to feature 20 teams.
| Copa do Mundo de Futsal da FIFA Brasil 2008 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Brazil |
| Dates | 30 September – 19 October |
| Teams | 20 (from 6 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Brazil (4th title) |
| Runners-up |  Spain |
| Third place |  Italy |
| Fourth place |  Russia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 56 |
| Goals scored | 387 (6.91 per match) |
| Attendance | 292,161 (5,217 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Pula (16 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Falcão |
| Best goalkeeper | Tiago |
| Fair play award | Spain |
Brazil won the tournament for the fourth time. It was their first title since 1996.
Qualifying criteria
Qualified nations
| Competition | Date | Venue | Berths | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host Nation | 1 | Brazil | ||
| 2008 AFC Futsal Championship | 11–18 May 2008 |  Thailand | 4 |  Iran Thailand Japan China |
| 2008 African Futsal Championship | 21–30 March 2008 |  Libya | 2 | Libya Egypt |
| 2008 CONCACAF Futsal Championship | 2–8 June 2008 |  Guatemala | 3 | Guatemala  Cuba  United States |
| 2008 Copa América de Futsal | 23–28 June 2008 |  Uruguay | 3 | Uruguay Argentina Paraguay |
| 2008 Oceanian Futsal Championship | 8–14 June 2008 |  Fiji | 1 |  Solomon Islands |
| UEFA Preliminary Competition | 23 February – 16 April 2008 | Groups | 6 | Spain  Portugal Italy Russia  Ukraine  Czech Republic |
| TOTAL | 20 | — | ||
Venues
| Arena | Maracanã Arena | Nilson Nelson Gymnasium |
|---|---|---|
| Picture |  |  |
| City | Rio de Janeiro | Brasília |
| Capacity | 12,105 | 11,160 |
Squads
Each nation submitted a squad of 14 players, including two goalkeepers.
Officials
First round
Draw
The 20 teams were divided in four groups, each group with five teams. The draw was held on 10 July 2008 in Brasília, Brazil
Tie break rule
In case two or more teams are equal on points, their ranking is determined by the results of matches between the tied teams only. If there is still a tie after this, the ranking is determined by goals difference in all group matches.
Group A
| Brazil | 12 - 1 | Japan |
| Cuba | 10 - 2 | Solomon Islands |
| Solomon Islands | 0 - 21 | Brazil |
| Russia | 10 - 5 | Cuba |
| Brazil | 7 - 0 | Russia |
| Japan | 7 - 2 | Solomon Islands |
| Japan | 4 - 1 | Cuba |
| Russia | 31 - 2 | Solomon Islands |
| Brazil | 9 - 0 | Cuba |
| Russia | 9 - 1 | Japan |
Group B
Notes:
| Italy | 1 - 0 | Thailand |
| Paraguay | 5 - 0 | United States |
| Portugal | 3 - 2 | Paraguay |
| United States | 1 - 6 | Italy |
| Thailand | 5 - 3 | United States |
| Italy | 3 - 1 | Portugal |
| Portugal | 8 - 1 | United States |
| Thailand | 0 - 8 | Paraguay |
| Italy | 2 - 4 | Paraguay |
| Portugal | 3 - 2 | Thailand |
Group C
| Guatemala | 1 - 0 | Egypt |
| Argentina | 5 - 0 | China |
| Egypt | 2 - 4 | Argentina |
| Ukraine | 6 - 2 | Guatemala |
| China | 2 - 6 | Egypt |
| Argentina | 2 - 2 | Ukraine |
| China | 1 - 10 | Guatemala |
| Ukraine | 5 - 1 | Egypt |
| Argentina | 2 - 1 | Guatemala |
| Ukraine | 4 - 2 | China |
Group D
| Spain | 3 - 3 | Iran |
| Uruguay | 3 - 3 | Libya |
| Libya | 0 - 3 | Spain |
| Czech Republic | 4 - 1 | Uruguay |
| Spain | 4 - 0 | Czech Republic |
| Iran | 4 - 2 | Libya |
| Czech Republic | 4 - 2 | Libya |
| Iran | 4 - 2 | Uruguay |
| Spain | 3 - 0 | Uruguay |
| Czech Republic | 2 - 3 | Iran |
Second round
Group E
| Brazil | 1 - 0 | Iran |
| Ukraine | 0 - 4 | Italy |
| Italy | 0 - 3 | Brazil |
| Ukraine | 4 - 5 | Iran |
| Brazil | 5 - 3 | Ukraine |
| Iran | 5 - 5 | Italy |
Group F
Final round
| Semifinals | Final | |||||
| 16 October 2008 - Rio de Janeiro | ||||||
| Russia | 2 | |||||
| 19 October 2008 - Rio de Janeiro | ||||||
| Brazil | 4 | |||||
| Brazil (pen.) | 2 (4) | |||||
| 16 October 2008 - Rio de Janeiro | ||||||
| Spain | 2 (3) | |||||
| Spain (a.e.t.) | 3 | |||||
| Italy | 2 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 18 October 2008 - Rio de Janeiro | ||||||
| Russia | 1 | |||||
| Italy | 2 | |||||
Semi-finals
Third place match
Final
Champions
| FIFA Futsal World Cup 2008 winners |
|---|
 Brazil Fourth title |
Awards
| Golden Shoe winner | Golden Ball winner | Golden Gloves winner |
|---|---|---|
| Pula | Falcão | Tiago |
| Silver Shoe winner | Silver Ball winner | Goal of the Tournament |
| Falcão | Schumacher | José Rafael Gonzalez |
| Bronze Shoe winner | Bronze Ball winner | FIFA Fair Play Trophy |
| Lenísio | Tiago | Spain |
Top goalscorers
The top 10 scorers from the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup are as follows:
| Rank | Name | Country | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pula | Russia | 16 |
| 2 | Falcão | Brazil | 15 |
| 3 | Lenísio | Brazil | 11 |
| 4 | Schumacher | Brazil | 10 |
| Damir Khamadiyev | Russia | ||
| 6 | Vladislav Shayakhmetov | Russia | 9 |
| 7 | Fabio Alcaraz | Paraguay | 8 |
| René Villalba | Paraguay | ||
| Cirilo | Russia | ||
| 10 | Fernando Grana | Italy | 7 |
| Dmitri Prudnikov | Russia | ||
| Fernandão | Spain |
Final tournament rankings
Per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-out are counted as draws.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 64 | 8 | +56 | 25 | |
| 2 | Spain | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 11 | +18 | 23 | |
| 3 | Italy | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 18 | +7 | 16 | |
| 4 | Russia | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 62 | 31 | +31 | 13 | |
| 5 | Iran | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 19 | +5 | 14 | Eliminated in the second round |
| 6 | Argentina | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 12 | +7 | 12 | |
| 7 | Paraguay | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 17 | +10 | 10 | |
| 8 | Ukraine | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 21 | +3 | 10 | |
| 9 | Portugal | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 9 | Eliminated in the first round |
| 10 | Guatemala | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 9 | +5 | 6 | |
| 11 | Czech Republic | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 18 | −7 | 6 | |
| 12 | Japan | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 24 | −11 | 6 | |
| 13 | Egypt | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 3 | |
| 14 | Thailand | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 15 | −8 | 3 | |
| 15 | Cuba | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 25 | −9 | 3 | |
| 16 | Libya | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 1 | |
| 17 | Uruguay | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 14 | −8 | 1 | |
| 18 | United States | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 24 | −19 | 0 | |
| 19 | China | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 25 | −20 | 0 | |
| 20 | Solomon Islands | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 69 | −63 | 0 |