U.S. Men’s Beach Soccer National Team Head Coach Francis Farberoff Names Final 12-Player Roster for 2024 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in United Arab Emirates
CHICAGO (Jan. 31, 2024) – U.S. Men’s Beach Soccer National Team head coach Francis Farberoff has selected an experienced 12-player roster that will represent the United States at the 2024 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup from Feb. 15-25 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. As part of the Federation’s strategic initiative to develop winning teams, the roster averages 46 caps, marking the USA’s most seasoned squad ever sent to the Beach Soccer World Cup.
“I have been around this game for a long time as a player and now a coach, and I feel this is the strongest team the USA has ever taken to a Beach Soccer World Cup,” Farberoff said. “At the same time, difficult decisions have to be made with quality players not making the roster, but there is another World Cup around the corner and some of these players will be our future. All the hard work and dedication the group has put in this cycle continues to drive us toward our main goal of becoming the first U.S. team to advance from the group stage at the Beach Soccer World Cup.”
The roster includes eight players with previous World Cup experience, highlighted by the trio of goalkeeper Chris Toth and forwards Alessandro Canale and Nick Perera (2013, 2019, 2021) who will all appear in their fourth FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, tying the U.S. record set by Farberoff (2005, 2006, 2007, 2013). The 2023 Beach Soccer Male Player of the Year, Gabe Silveira (2019, 2021), also heads to his third World Cup
Eleven of the 12 players selected were also part of the U.S. squad that ran off six-straight wins at last year’s Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship, including a 5-0 defeat of Mexico in the final to claim the confederation crown for just the third time. The performance at the regional championship accentuated the most successful year in Beach MNT history, with the team earning a record 11 wins on the year.
Drawn into Group A, the No. 13-ranked USBMNT will play the opening match of the tournament against No. 7 Italy on Thursday, Feb. 15 (6:30 a.m. ET; FS2, Universo), face hosts and No. 8-ranked United Arab Emirates on Saturday, Feb. 17 (10:30 a.m. ET; FS2, Telemundo.com, Telemundo App) and take on No. 24-ranked Egypt in the group finale on Monday, Feb. 19 (6:30 a.m. ET; FS2, Universo).
U.S. MEN’S BEACH SOCCER NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (Hometown; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (2): 12-Austin Collier (Chesapeake, Va.; 11/0), 1-Chris Toth (San Diego, Calif; 97/16)
DEFENDERS (3): 3-Antonio Chavez (Oceanside, Calif.; 35/7), 5-Nico Perea (Hollywood, Fla.; 35/19), 6-Cody Valcarcel (Santa Cruz, Calif.; 21/6)
MIDFIELDERS (3): 2-Tanner Akol (Santa Cruz, Calif.; 24/12), 11-Chris Albiston (Virginia Beach, Va.; 48/22), 4-Ricardo Carvalho (Milwaukee, Wis.; 10/4)
FORWARDS (4): 9-Alessandro Canale (Venice Beach, Calif.; 93/66), 7-Nick Perera (Carlsbad, Calif.; 94/114), 8-Conner Rezende (Davie, Fla.; 33/5), 10-Gabriel Silveira (San Francisco, Calif.; 54/44)
- Head Coach: Francis Farberoff
- Assistant Coach: Ben Astorga
- Performance Coach: Daniel Wartner
EXPERIENCE COUNTS
With an average of 46 caps and eight players having already taken part in the tournament, this is the most experienced roster the USA has ever sent to the Beach Soccer World Cup. The squad is led by the Beach MNT’s three all-time leading cap-winners in goalkeeper Chris Toth (97 caps) and forwards Nick Perera (94) and Alessandro Canale (93), all of whom will take part in their record-tying fourth Beach Soccer World Cups. For his part, Toth is on the cusp of making history as he’s in line to become the first Beach MNT player to earn 100 caps in the group stage finale against Egypt.
| USBMNT All-Time Cap Leaders | USBMNT World Cup Rosters | ||
| Chris Toth | 97 | Alessandro Canale | 4 |
| Nick Perera | 94 | Francis Farberoff | 4 |
| Alessandro Canale | 93 | Nick Perera | 4 |
| Jason Leopoldo | 70 | Chris Toth | 4 |
| Jason Santos | 62 | Ben Astorga | 3 |
| Francis Farberoff | 61 | Anthony Chimienti | 3 |
| Lewie Valentine | 61 | Gabriel Silveira | 3 |
| Ryan Futagaki | 58 | Brendon Taguinod | 3 |
| Gabriel Silveira | 54 | Raphael Xexeo | 3 |
Meanwhile, head coach Francis Farberoff has gone to all seven Beach Soccer World Cups in which the USA has taken part. The former defender played in the USA’s first four World Cup appearances (2005, 2006, 2007, 2013), served as an assistant coach at the 2019 World Cup and will now lead the team in his second World Cup as head coach after first doing so in 2021. Assistant coach Ben Astorga heads to his fifth World Cup, having been a teammate of Farberoff’s during the first three tournaments and now going to his second-straight as an assistant coach.
The team’s top two all-time leading scorers, Perera (114 goals) and Canale (66 goals) are joined by 2023 U.S. Soccer Male Beach Soccer Player of the Year Gabriel Silveira (44 goals), who currently sits third on the USA’s all-time scoring chart and will participate in his third World Cup. About to head to his second World Cup, midfielder Chris Albiston’s 22 goals also place him seventh all-time on the Beach MNT’s scoring list.
Additionally, Canale is tied for the U.S. lead in World Cup scoring with nine goals in as many matches at Beach Soccer’s pinnacle event, followed closely by Perera (7 goals), while defender Nico Perea ranks sixth with all four goals coming at the 2021 World Cup in Russia.
| Beach MNT Scoring Leaders (GP) | Beach MNT World Cup Scoring Leaders (GP) | ||
| Nick Perera | 114 (94) | Alessandro Canale | 9 (9) |
| Alessandro Canale | 66 (93) | Anthony Chimienti | 9 (9) |
| Gabriel Silveira | 44 (54) | Ben Astorga | 7 (8) |
| Yuri Morales | 35 (35) | Nick Perera | 7 (9) |
| Anthony Chimienti | 29 (37) | Raphel Xexeo | 5 (5) |
| Jason Leopoldo | 25 (70) | Nico Perea | 4 (3) |
| Chris Albiston | 22 (48) | Jason Leopoldo | 3 (6) |
WORLD CUP PATH
The USBMNT has a challenging path ahead in Dubai next month. The USA opens the World Cup on Feb. 15 against reigning European champion Italy in the first meeting between the nations since the FIFA era of Beach Soccer began in 2005. Winners of the 2023 UEFA Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifiers, the Azzuri have made the semifinals on four occasions and twice finished runner-up, losing 5-3 to Brazil in the 2008 final and 6-4 to Portugal in the 2019 title game.
The second match comes on Feb. 17 against United Arab Emirates, marking the fourth straight World Cup in which the USBMNT will face the host nation. Having first qualified for the 2007 edition, UAE will take part in their eighth FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, and like the United States will have the goal of advancing from the group stage for the first time. This will be the second World Cup meeting and sixth overall match between the USA and UAE in men’s Beach Soccer. The USA’s last World Cup win came against UAE, earning a 6-4 result during the 2013 tournament in Tahiti, a match in which captain Nick Perera scored a hat trick and Alessandro Canale also recorded two goals. The USBMNT took a 3-2-0 series advantage after goals from Conner Rezende, Gabriel Silveira and Cody Valcarcel helped the team claim a 3-1 victory at January’s Maranhão International Cup in Brazil.
The USA closes out the group stage on Feb. 19 against Egypt. One of two countries taking part in their first FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the Pharaohs qualified for the tournament after finishing as runners up at the 2022 Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations. The match will mark the second-ever meeting between the nations in men’s Beach Soccer, with Egypt earning a 5-3 win during the Intercontinental Cup on Nov. 3, 2016 in Dubai. Nick Perera scored all three goals in the match to claim the seventh of 15 career international hat tricks.
ADDITIONAL ROSTER NOTES
- As of the opening match on Feb. 15, the 12-player roster will have an average age of 32 years, 126 days and 46 caps.
- The roster includes 11 of the 12 players who helped the USA win the 2023 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship and qualify for this year’s World Cup last May, with only Tanner Akol not a part of that squad.
- Set to appear in their fourth World Cups, the trio of Alessandro Canale, Nick Perera and Chris Toth (2013, 2019, 2021, 2023) ties head coach Francis Farberoff (2005, 2006, 2007, 2013) for most World Cup rosters in Beach MNT history.
- Canale, Perera and Toth lead the list of eight players with previous Beach Soccer World Cup experience. They are followed by Gabriel Silveira (3; 2019, 2021 2024) and Tanner Akol, Chris Albiston, Nico Perea and Conner Rezende (2; 2021, 2024).
- Ricardo Carvalho, Antonio Chavez, Austin Collier and Cody Valcarcel will take part in their first Beach Soccer World Cup.
- Should he appear in three matches at the World Cup, goalkeeper Chris Toth is set to become the first Beach MNT player to reach 100 caps since U.S. Soccer began overseeing Beach Soccer in 2005.
- After captaining the USA at January’s Maranhão International Cup, midfielder Chris Albiston (48 caps) is set to become the 10th USBMNT player to surpass the 50-cap mark during the World Cup.
- Forwards Nick Perera and Alessandro Canale are tied for second all-time with nine World Cup caps and can surpass Francis Farberoff (11) with appearances in all three group stage matches.
- With nine World Cup goals, Canale is also tied with Anthony Chimienti for the USA’s all-time World Cup scoring lead. Perera is close behind in second with seven World Cup goals.
- The roster features the Beach MNT’s three all-time leading scorers, led by Nick Perera (114 goals / 94 caps), Alessandro Canale (66 goals / 93 caps) and Gabriel Silveira (44 goals / 54 caps).
- Ricardo Carvalho heads to the World Cup less than a year after making his Beach MNT debut on May 8, 2023 against Dominican Republic at the Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship.
- With seven selections, California leads the list of four states represented on the World Cup roster, followed by two each from Florida and Virginia and one from Wisconsin.
- Four players are on Major Arena Soccer League rosters: Canale, Perera and Toth all feature for Tacoma Stars, while Ricardo Carvalho plays for Milwaukee Wave.
U.S. MEN’S BEACH SOCCER NATIONAL TEAM NOTES
- The USA has qualified for seven of 12 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups, including the last three tournaments: Brazil 2005, Brazil 2006, Brazil 2007, Tahiti 2013, Paraguay 2019, Russia 2021 and United Arab Emirates 2024.
- The USBMNT claimed its third Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship in 2023, having previously won the confederation title in 2006 and 2013.
- Coming off earning an 11-3-0 record, the year 2023 marked the USBMNT’s most successful campaign since U.S. Soccer began overseeing Beach Soccer in 2005. The team also set milestones with a +43 goal difference and 2.29 goals against average, while its 75 goals scored was the second-highest in team history after the 80 goals scored in 2019.
- Head coach Francis Farberoff is 20-17-0 since he began leading the team in 2021.
- The USBMNT holds a 72-87-9 record since U.S. Soccer began overseeing Beach Soccer in 2005.
About the U.S. Soccer Federation
Founded in 1913, U.S. Soccer has been the official governing body of the sport in the United States for more than 100 years. As U.S. Soccer looks toward the future amid an unprecedented moment of opportunity, we’ve aligned our efforts around five strategic pillars: Grow the game by increasing youth and adult participation and accessibility to the sport; Foster the best playing environments through quality of referees and coaches, increase DEIB and participant safety; Develop winning teams through solidified pathways and success of professional leagues; Grow the soccer economy to fuel reinvestment by increasing membership, fandom and commercial success; and Create a world-class organization through revitalized structure and culture, best-in-class talent, progress in DEIB, and more. For more information, visit ussoccer.com/ourvision.