El Salvador, Guatemala chases first title at 2025 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup | OneFootball

MIAMI – Two Concacaf countries begin their title hopes when the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Seychelles 2025 kicks off on Thursday.

The 13th edition of the tournament will be a historic one as the first to be hosted in Africa. Victoria, Seychelles will be the host city for this year's edition.

El Salvador and Guatemala earned the two qualification spots from the region by reaching the final of the 2025 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship earlier this year. Both nations seek to become the first from Concacaf to lift the world title on May 11.

The top two from each of the four groups will reach the knockout phase. The tournament will continue in single-elimination format until a winner and third place team are crowned in the final matchday.

El Salvador, the 2025 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship winners, returns for a sixth occasion and first since the 2021 edition. Its best finish came in 2011, reaching the semifinals in Ravenna, Italy, before departing as the fourth-place team. Drawn into Group D, La Selecta will meet defending champions Brazil in its opening match on May 2, followed by Oman on May 4, and Italy on May 6.

Guatemala, the 2025 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship runners-up, will make its debut as part of the opening matchday. Drawn into Group A, Los Chapines will open against Japan on May 1, followed by hosts Seychelles on May 3 and against Belarus on May 5.

Here are the 16 nations competing in the 2025 tournament:

Group A: Seychelles, Belarus, Guatemala, Japan

Group B: Mauritania, Iran, Portugal, Paraguay

Group C: Spain, Senegal, Chile, Tahiti

Group D: Brazil, El Salvador, Italy, Oman

The highest finish by a Concacaf team in the FIFA era of the tournament came in 2007, when Mexico made it to the final before falling to hosts Brazil, earning a historic second-place finish.

Guatemala will become the eighth Concacaf nation to participate in the Beach Soccer World Cup. Only Canada (2006) and Mexico (2007) won their debuts in the FIFA era, both doing so on penalties.