This is the first time Uzbekistan has hosted the number 1 tournament of futsal.
In addition to the host country Uzbekistan, the remaining Asian representatives attending the World Cup include Iran, Thailand, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. Together with Kazakhstan (a member of the Union of European Football Associations - UEFA), for the first time, the Central Asian region has 4 representatives attending the World Cup.
The draw has placed Uzbekistan in Group A with the Netherlands, Costa Rica and Paraguay. The Netherlands futsal team is returning to the World Cup after a 24-year absence.
With home advantage, Uzbekistan are confident of advancing. The main opponent of the Central Asian team is Paraguay, the team ranked 20th in the world, who reached the round of 16 in 2016.
The Thai futsal team is in Group B with Brazil - a team that has won the World Cup four times, Croatia and Cuba. In this group, except for Brazil, which has a superior level, the Thai team is confident of advancing. They have experience with 7 World Cups, in which the last 3 tournaments all reached the round of 16.
Iran futsal team (ranked 5th in the world) is the Asian team with the best chance of going deep in this year's tournament. Iran has always been a force in any futsal tournament they participate in. They have continuously passed the group stage since 2008, their highest achievement at the World Cup was 3rd place in 2016. Iran futsal team's opponents in Group F are France, Guatemala and Venezuela, all of which are weaker than them.
Tajikistan, in their first Futsal World Cup, fell into a very difficult group with defending champion Portugal, Africa's number 1 team Morocco and Panama.
With their strength, Tajikistan will hardly compete for one of the top two positions. Instead, they will try to advance as one of the four third-place teams with the best results.
Afghanistan's futsal team will compete with Argentina (champions in 2016, runners-up in 2021), Angola and Ukraine. Despite being a newcomer, Afghanistan is confident that they will compete on equal terms with Angola and Ukraine - teams of moderate strength.
