Malta to meet Belgium, Sweden and Armenia in futsal group

The Malta futsal team have been drawn against Belgium, Sweden and Armenia in Group E of the 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup preliminary round.  Sweden will host the tournament between January 29 and February 3, 2019. The preliminary and main round round qualifying draws were made on Wednesday at UEFA’s Nyon headquarters. Malta were in Pot 2 for the draw. As part of their preparations for these FIFA Futsal World Cup qualifiers, Malta played four friendly matches, two against the Netherlands and two against Northern Ireland, in recent months. Led by coach Vic Hermans, Malta will travel to Northern Ireland on January 14 to play another two friendlies before heading to Sweden for what promises to be a very tough qualifying campaign, given the strength of the other teams in the group. The top two sides in each group will progress to the main round. Europe has been allocated six berths in the 24-team finals, not counting Lithuania, who will compete as hosts from 12 September to 4 October 2020. Among the record entry of 49 teams are World Cup debutants Germany and Kosovo, plus Northern Ireland, making their bow in any international men’s futsal competition. Qualifying will be in four stages: preliminary round, main round, elite round and play-offs.