CHICAGO (Jan. 31, 2024) – U.S. Men’s Beach Soccer National Team head coach Francis Farberoff has selected an experienced 12-player roster that will represent the United States at the 2024 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup from Feb. 15-25 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. As part of the Federation’s strategic initiative to develop winning teams, the roster averages 46 caps, marking the USA’s most seasoned squad ever sent to the Beach Soccer World Cup.
“I have been around this game for a long time as a player and now a coach, and I feel this is the strongest team the USA has ever taken to a Beach Soccer World Cup,” Farberoff said. “At the same time, difficult decisions have to be made with quality players not making the roster, but there is another World Cup around the corner and some of these players will be our future. All the hard work and dedication the group has put in this cycle continues to drive us toward our main goal of becoming the first U.S. team to advance from the group stage at the Beach Soccer World Cup.”
The roster includes eight players with previous World Cup experience, highlighted by the trio of goalkeeper Chris Toth and forwards Alessandro Canale and Nick Perera (2013, 2019, 2021) who will all appear in their fourth FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, tying the U.S. record set by Farberoff (2005, 2006, 2007, 2013). The 2023 Beach Soccer Male Player of the Year, Gabe Silveira (2019, 2021), also heads to his third World Cup
Eleven of the 12 players selected were also part of the U.S. squad that ran off six-straight wins at last year’s Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship, including a 5-0 defeat of Mexico in the final to claim the confederation crown for just the third time. The performance at the regional championship accentuated the most successful year in Beach MNT history, with the team earning a record 11 wins on the year.
Drawn into Group A, the No. 13-ranked USBMNT will play the opening match of the tournament against No. 7 Italy on Thursday, Feb. 15 (6:30 a.m. ET; FS2, Universo), face hosts and No. 8-ranked United Arab Emirates on Saturday, Feb. 17 (10:30 a.m. ET; FS2, Telemundo.com, Telemundo App) and take on No. 24-ranked Egypt in the group finale on Monday, Feb. 19 (6:30 a.m. ET; FS2, Universo).
GOALKEEPERS (2): 12-Austin Collier (Chesapeake, Va.; 11/0), 1-Chris Toth (San Diego, Calif; 97/16)
DEFENDERS (3): 3-Antonio Chavez (Oceanside, Calif.; 35/7), 5-Nico Perea (Hollywood, Fla.; 35/19), 6-Cody Valcarcel (Santa Cruz, Calif.; 21/6)
MIDFIELDERS (3): 2-Tanner Akol (Santa Cruz, Calif.; 24/12), 11-Chris Albiston (Virginia Beach, Va.; 48/22), 4-Ricardo Carvalho (Milwaukee, Wis.; 10/4)
FORWARDS (4): 9-Alessandro Canale (Venice Beach, Calif.; 93/66), 7-Nick Perera (Carlsbad, Calif.; 94/114), 8-Conner Rezende (Davie, Fla.; 33/5), 10-Gabriel Silveira (San Francisco, Calif.; 54/44)
With an average of 46 caps and eight players having already taken part in the tournament, this is the most experienced roster the USA has ever sent to the Beach Soccer World Cup. The squad is led by the Beach MNT’s three all-time leading cap-winners in goalkeeper Chris Toth (97 caps) and forwards Nick Perera (94) and Alessandro Canale (93), all of whom will take part in their record-tying fourth Beach Soccer World Cups. For his part, Toth is on the cusp of making history as he’s in line to become the first Beach MNT player to earn 100 caps in the group stage finale against Egypt.
| USBMNT All-Time Cap Leaders | USBMNT World Cup Rosters | ||
| Chris Toth | 97 | Alessandro Canale | 4 |
| Nick Perera | 94 | Francis Farberoff | 4 |
| Alessandro Canale | 93 | Nick Perera | 4 |
| Jason Leopoldo | 70 | Chris Toth | 4 |
| Jason Santos | 62 | Ben Astorga | 3 |
| Francis Farberoff | 61 | Anthony Chimienti | 3 |
| Lewie Valentine | 61 | Gabriel Silveira | 3 |
| Ryan Futagaki | 58 | Brendon Taguinod | 3 |
| Gabriel Silveira | 54 | Raphael Xexeo | 3 |
Meanwhile, head coach Francis Farberoff has gone to all seven Beach Soccer World Cups in which the USA has taken part. The former defender played in the USA’s first four World Cup appearances (2005, 2006, 2007, 2013), served as an assistant coach at the 2019 World Cup and will now lead the team in his second World Cup as head coach after first doing so in 2021. Assistant coach Ben Astorga heads to his fifth World Cup, having been a teammate of Farberoff’s during the first three tournaments and now going to his second-straight as an assistant coach.
The team’s top two all-time leading scorers, Perera (114 goals) and Canale (66 goals) are joined by 2023 U.S. Soccer Male Beach Soccer Player of the Year Gabriel Silveira (44 goals), who currently sits third on the USA’s all-time scoring chart and will participate in his third World Cup. About to head to his second World Cup, midfielder Chris Albiston’s 22 goals also place him seventh all-time on the Beach MNT’s scoring list.
Additionally, Canale is tied for the U.S. lead in World Cup scoring with nine goals in as many matches at Beach Soccer’s pinnacle event, followed closely by Perera (7 goals), while defender Nico Perea ranks sixth with all four goals coming at the 2021 World Cup in Russia.
| Beach MNT Scoring Leaders (GP) | Beach MNT World Cup Scoring Leaders (GP) | ||
| Nick Perera | 114 (94) | Alessandro Canale | 9 (9) |
| Alessandro Canale | 66 (93) | Anthony Chimienti | 9 (9) |
| Gabriel Silveira | 44 (54) | Ben Astorga | 7 (8) |
| Yuri Morales | 35 (35) | Nick Perera | 7 (9) |
| Anthony Chimienti | 29 (37) | Raphel Xexeo | 5 (5) |
| Jason Leopoldo | 25 (70) | Nico Perea | 4 (3) |
| Chris Albiston | 22 (48) | Jason Leopoldo | 3 (6) |
The USBMNT has a challenging path ahead in Dubai next month. The USA opens the World Cup on Feb. 15 against reigning European champion Italy in the first meeting between the nations since the FIFA era of Beach Soccer began in 2005. Winners of the 2023 UEFA Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifiers, the Azzuri have made the semifinals on four occasions and twice finished runner-up, losing 5-3 to Brazil in the 2008 final and 6-4 to Portugal in the 2019 title game.
The second match comes on Feb. 17 against United Arab Emirates, marking the fourth straight World Cup in which the USBMNT will face the host nation. Having first qualified for the 2007 edition, UAE will take part in their eighth FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, and like the United States will have the goal of advancing from the group stage for the first time. This will be the second World Cup meeting and sixth overall match between the USA and UAE in men’s Beach Soccer. The USA’s last World Cup win came against UAE, earning a 6-4 result during the 2013 tournament in Tahiti, a match in which captain Nick Perera scored a hat trick and Alessandro Canale also recorded two goals. The USBMNT took a 3-2-0 series advantage after goals from Conner Rezende, Gabriel Silveira and Cody Valcarcel helped the team claim a 3-1 victory at January’s Maranhão International Cup in Brazil.
The USA closes out the group stage on Feb. 19 against Egypt. One of two countries taking part in their first FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the Pharaohs qualified for the tournament after finishing as runners up at the 2022 Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations. The match will mark the second-ever meeting between the nations in men’s Beach Soccer, with Egypt earning a 5-3 win during the Intercontinental Cup on Nov. 3, 2016 in Dubai. Nick Perera scored all three goals in the match to claim the seventh of 15 career international hat tricks.
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