Futsal EURO 2018

This week Futsal EURO 2018 - the European 5-a-side football played indoor - has begun in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The Italian national team led by coach Menichelli will debut tonight at 20 and 45 against Serbia, in the beautiful Arena Stožice that will host all the matches of the tournament. The national competing in the tournament are twelve, divided into four groups of three teams each: in addition to Serbia, Italy has caught the home team, namely Slovenia. Futsal EURO 2018 will be broadcast entirely on Fox Sports: a unique opportunity for football lovers and an excellent opportunity for everyone else to get closer to a sport that is very different from 11-a-side football.

What should we expect from Italy?

Not so much, actually. The favorites teams are Spain (seven times champions of Europe), Portugal led by Ricardinho - who is currently considered today the best player in the world - and Russia. Futsal's Italian national team won the European Championship twice - in 2003 and 2014 - but it does not seem to be among the favorites of this competition due to the rather high average age of the team and above all due to the potential of its competitors. In each group, the first two will pass to the next round, and Italy has been lucky to fish Serbia and Slovenia that are technically within reach of the Azzurri. Much will depend on the match tonight with Serbia, not to get to challenge Slovenia with the pressure of the public on him.

The games

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the first games of the competition were played. In the opening match between Italy's group opponents, they drew 2 to 2, like Russia and Poland who stopped on the 1 to 1. Yesterday, there was another spectacular 4 to 4 draw between the super favored Spain and France, while Portugal easily has beaten Romania thanks to Ricardinho's spells.

The complete Fixture

Thursday 1 February
Group B: Poland v Kazakhstan (18:00)
Group A: Serbia v Italy (20:45)

Friday 2 February
Group D: France v Azerbaijan (18:00)
Group C: Romania v Ukraine (20:45)

Saturday 3 February
Group B: Kazakhstan v Russia (18:00)
Group A: Italy v Slovenia (20:45)

Sunday 4 February
Group C: Ukraine v Portugal (18:00)
Group D: Azerbaijan v Spain (20:45)

Quarter-finals - Monday 5 February
QF1: Winner A v Runner-up B (18:00 or 21:00) 
QF2: Runner-up A v Winner B (18:00 or 21:00)

Tuesday 6 February
QF3: Winner C v Runner-up D (18:00 or 21:00)
QF4: Runner-up C v Winner D (18:00 or 21:00)

Semi-finals - Thursday 8 February
SF1: QF1 v QF3 (18:00 or 21:00)
SF2: QF2 v QF4 (18:00 or 21:00)

Finals day - Saturday 10 February
Third-place play-off (18:00)
Final (20:45)