The final few places for the Superfinal and Promotion Finals are up for grabs in Hungary.
The third stage of this year’s Euro Beach Soccer League arrives in the Hungarian lakeside resort of Siofok this weekend with plenty left to play for as the final few teams bid to secure their places in Catania next month.
Two thrilling events precede the action in Siofok, with Moscow and Sanxenxo both hosting top-drawer beach soccer in recent weeks, as Spain and Switzerland ensured their spots at the Superfinal in Sicily.
With the eight best ranked top-tier teams heading to compete in Catania in September, six more teams will hope to join them – most notably the world’s top two sides Portugal and Russia, who meet in Division A, Group One.
Group rivals Romania sit on zero and can not qualify for the Superfinal, but could feature at the Promotion Final, while Belarus, on three points, face an uphill task to qualify.
In Division A, Group Two, Poland and Germany know that a spot in Catania remains a possibility, after collecting three points each in Moscow and Sanxenxo.
Belarus sit seventh in the overall standings – also on three points – while the world’s number four side Italy are in a healthier position, with six points to their name.
Division B sees the champions of each group, the three best-ranked runners-up and the team that finishes bottom of Division A compete for a spot in the top tier, with England, Czech Republic, Moldova, Estonia and Turkey already ensuring their places in Catania.
This weekend, Division B sees Azerbaijan, Denmark, Bulgaria and hosts Hungary make their debuts in this year’s competition, with all four hoping to do enough to earn a shot at the top division via the Promotion Final.
All 12 teams trained on Thursday, before Azerbaijan and Bulgaria kick the tournament off at 12.15 local time on Friday.
Teams, squads, standings and results are available on the EBSL Siofok event page with all matches streamed live via www.beachsoccer.com
