The U.S. began play in the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Thursday, falling to the Football Union of Russia 5-4.
The U.S. roster includes five players connected to San Diego County, including UC San Diego alumnus Alessandro Canale, goalkeeper Chris Toth from Fallbrook, and forward Nick Perera of Carlsbad.
Each are appear in their third Beach Soccer World Cup.
Defender Jason Santos from Cardiff-by-the-Sea is in his second. The 14-player U.S. roster includes another local goalkeeper, Xavier Snaer-Williams from Oceanside. He graduated from El Camino High School,
The game was played in Luzhniki Beach Soccer Stadium in Moscow and streamed on the Telemundo Deportes app.
An English-language broadcast will be shown on a delayed basis on cable’s FS1 at 4 p.m.
In accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and a December 2020 decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Football Union of Russia will participate as neutral athletes of its national sports federation.
The game is the first of three group play games for the U.S. The team will face Japan on Saturday at 6:30 a.m. and Paraguay Monday at noon.
Japan won its opener 7-4 over Paraguay.
The top two teams in each of the four four-team groups advance to the quarterfinals.
Canale, 31, scored twice in both the 2013 and 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups. He was a All-West Region third team selection by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in 2013, his first season with the Tritons.
Toth, who turned 32 Aug. 4, is a Fallbrook High School graduate who was the Major Arena Soccer League’s goalkeeper of the year for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons when he played for the San Diego Sockers.
Unlike conventional soccer, a game cannot end in a tie. A three-minute overtime follows, and if the score remains tied a penalty kick shootout is conducted.
This is the 11th FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and 21st world championship for beach soccer.
The U.S. was eliminated in the group stage of the 2019 tournament after failing to qualify for the 2015 and 2017 tournaments.
