Chennai: All national qualifiers of five-a-side teams in the world are on way to Brazil in search of glory in Neymar Jr’s Five World Final 2019, which is set to begin today at Praia Grande following months of intense qualifying action.
Now in its fourth edition, over 100,000 players aged 16 to 25 from more than 40 countries across six continents are participating in the contest. One mixed team and one women’s team will be crowned World Champions in the tournament.
The format involves 10 minutes of intense action with no goalkeepers and teams losing a player every time the opposition scores.
From India, Kalina Rangers Mumbai emerged victorious and became the National Champions. Anthony Machado, Tyson Periera, Henderson Dias, Rayyan Shaikh, Craig D’Souza, Melvin Barboza and Charnel D’Almeidawill now represent India.
Anthony Machado from Kalina Rangers said, “We are delighted to win the Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five 2019 National Finals. We have been practicing a lot before this tournament started as we know we have to play against some of the best 5-a-side teams in the finals. We are proud to represent India at the world finals in Brazil and we hope to make our nation proud. I personally have been playing Futsal for the past 7-8 years. It is a format that really excites me because of its fast-paced nature and one must be focused the entire game as one lapse in concentration can lead to goals.”
Along with the best teams from each country, for the first time, one international team will also compete for the title. This team is formed by the winners of the Jr´s Global Five competition, where players from all over the world participated by posting videos of their #outplaythemall skills on their Instagram channels.
The World Final kicks off with the group stage. The best teams will advance to Saturday’s knock-out format before the top two women’s and mixed teams face each other in the final of each division. Besides the trophy and champion status, their prize will be once a lifetime opportunity to play a game against a team formed by Neymar Jr.