UEFA Futsal Euro 2020 began Wednesday in Amsterdam with Portugal — the defending European and world champion — beating Serbia 4-2 after trailing 2-0 to show that reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated.
It's only been 15 weeks since Portugal beat Argentina to claim the Covid-delayed FIFA Futsal World Cup, but much has changed in the small-sided world, namely, the retirement of Portuguese legend Ricardinho.
But Portugal still has World Cup hero Pany Varela, the legendary Bruno Coelho, young star Zicky Té and emerging talent like this guy Tomás Paçó.
12 / 2°T
GOOOOOL DE PORTUGALPortugal 4-2 Sérvia #FutsalEURO #Futsal #Futsalprofissional pic.twitter.com/I93C2WsQLv
— Futsal Profissional (@FSProfissional) January 19, 2022
But the Seleção das Quinas faces tough competition in the Netherlands with three other quarterfinalists from the last World Cup (Kazakhstan, Spain and Russia), as well as other perennial powers like Italy, Ukraine and Slovenia.
Unfortunately, the hosts won't be able to rely on their famous Oranje supporters as current Dutch government Covid-measures prohibit spectators from attending sporting events until Jan. 25. This means the group stage will be played without fans, but there's still the possibility of supporters returning in some capacity for the knockout rounds.
The two venues in use are the 4,500-seat MartiniPlaza in Groningen and the 17,000-seat Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam.
If you're wondering how to watch UEFA Futsal Euro, there's a complete schedule below. The official broadcast partner in the United States is ESPN/Univision, so you can stream almost every game on ESPN3.
Basic Futsal Rules
The game is played five-on-five (one goalkeeper and four outfield players per side), and consists of two 20-minute halves and a 15-minute break for halftime. Unlike the outdoor game, the clock stops when the ball is out of play and begins again once play resumes. There is no stoppage time.
Each team has one timeout per half that it can use when in possession of the ball, but there are no timeouts in extra time.
Like hockey, the game uses rolling substitutions — a bench of up to nine players can be substituted on and off an unlimited amount of times and changes can be made without stopping the game.
UEFA Futsal Euro Schedule
(All times ET)
Wednesday, Jan. 19
11:30 a.m. | Serbia 2 - 4 Portugal
2:30 p.m. | Netherlands vs. Ukraine | ESPN3
Thursday, Jan. 20
11:30 a.m. | Kazakhstan vs. Slovenia | ESPN3
2:30 p.m. | Italy vs. Finland | ESPN3
Friday, Jan. 21
11:30 a.m. | Russia vs. Slovakia | ESPN3
2:30 p.m. | Poland vs. Croatia | ESPN3
Saturday, Jan. 22
8:30 a.m. | Georgia vs. Azerbaijan | ESPN3
11:30 a.m. | Spain vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina | ESPN3, TUDN USA
Sunday, Jan. 23
8:30 a.m. | Serbia vs. Ukraine | ESPN3
11:30 a.m. | Portugal vs. Netherlands | ESPN3, TUDN USA
Monday, Jan. 24
11:30 a.m. | Italy vs. Slovenia | ESPN3
2:30 p.m. | Finland vs. Kazakhstan | ESPN3
Tuesday, Jan. 25
11:30 a.m. | Croatia vs. Russia | ESPN3
2:30 p.m. | Poland vs. Slovakia | ESPN3
Wednesday, Jan. 26
11:30 a.m. | Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Georgia | ESPN3
2:30 p.m. | Spain vs. Azerbaijan | ESPN3
Friday, Jan. 28
11:30 a.m. | Kazakhstan vs. Italy | ESPN3
11:30 a.m. | Slovenia vs. Finland | ESPN3
2:30 p.m. | Ukraine vs. Portugal | ESPN3
2:30 p.m. | Netherlands vs. Serbia | ESPN3
Saturday, Jan. 29
8:30 a.m. | Russia vs. Poland | ESPN3
8:30 a.m. | Slovakia vs. Croatia | ESPN3
11:30 a.m. | Georgia vs. Spain | ESPN3
11:30 a.m. | Azerbaijan vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina | ESPN3
Quarterfinals
Monday, Jan. 31 and Tuesday, Feb. 1
Semifinals
Friday, Feb. 4
Final
Sunday, Feb. 6 at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam
