1998 Beach Soccer World Championships
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Brazil |
| Dates | January 18 – January 25 |
| Teams | 10 (from 3 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Brazil (4th title) |
| Runners-up |  France |
| Third place |  Uruguay |
| Fourth place |  Peru |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 24 |
| Goals scored | 216 (9 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Júnior (14 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Júnior |
| Best goalkeeper | Paulo Sérgio |
← 1997 1999 → | |
The 1998 Beach Soccer World Championship was the fourth edition of the Beach Soccer World Championships, the most prestigious competition in international beach soccer contested by men's national teams. It was organised by Brazilian sports agency Koch Tavares (one of the founding partners of Beach Soccer Worldwide), with the championships ultimately coming under the control of FIFA in 2005 and subsequently rebranded as the better known FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
The tournament continued to take place at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For the first time, the number of teams competing was raised, from eight to ten. This change saw the longest group stage until the competition became a 16-team event in 2006.
Brazil, the three-time defending champions, successfully defended their title again to win their fourth World Championship by beating France 9–2 in the final. This was the first time a European nation appeared in the final of a World Championship.
Organisation
The amount of teams competing this year was increased to ten which meant necessary alterations to the past organisational structure of the tournament.
The nations were split into two groups, just as in previous editions, however this time since ten nations were competing instead of eight, both groups consisted of five nations rather than four. The countries competed in a round robin format. The top two teams then progressed to the semi finals from which point onward the championship was played as a knock-out tournament until a winner was crowned, with an additional match to determine third place.
Teams
Africa, Asia and Oceania were unrepresented.
|
European Zone (4): North American Zone (1): |
South American Zone (4): Hosts:
|
Notes:
- 1. Teams making their debut
Group stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | W+ | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 6 | +32 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Peru
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 23 | –2 | 9 | |
| 3 |  Spain
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 22 | –5 | 6 | |
| 4 |  Argentina
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 19 | –6 | 3 | |
| 5 |  Italy
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 31 | –19 | 0 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | W+ | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 15 | +2 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Uruguay
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 17 | –2 | 6 | |
| 3 |  Portugal
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 13 | +9 | 6 | |
| 4 |  United States
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 14 | –1 | 6 | |
| 5 |  Chile
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 22 | –8 | 3 |
Note:
- Portugal, the Untied States and Uruguay were tied on 6 points each and one win against each other in their head-to-head records
- Uruguay progressed based on having the best goal difference in the head-to-head results (URU +1, POR 0, USA –1)
Knockout stage
Semi-finals
Third place play-off
Final
Winners
| 1998 Beach Soccer World Championship Champions |
|---|
 Brazil Fourth title |
Awards
| Top scorers | |
|---|---|
| Júnior
| |
| 14 goals | |
| Best player | |
| Júnior
| |
| Best goalkeeper | |
| Paulo Sérgio
| |
Final standings
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | W+ | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Brazil
|
6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 9 | +43 | 18 | Champions |
| 2 | B | France
|
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 29 | −5 | 11 | Runners-up |
| 3 | B | Uruguay
|
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 25 | −3 | 9 | Third place |
| 4 | A | Peru
|
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 34 | −5 | 9 | Fourth place |
| 5 | B | Portugal
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 13 | +9 | 6 | Eliminated in the group stage |
| 6 | A | Spain
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 22 | −5 | 6 | |
| 7 | B | United States
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 14 | −1 | 6 | |
| 8 | A | Argentina
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 19 | −6 | 3 | |
| 9 | B | Chile
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 3 | |
| 10 | A | Italy
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 31 | −19 | 0 |