USA roster announced for 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup

CHICAGO – U.S. Beach Soccer Men’s National Team head coach Francis Farberoff has selected a 14-player roster that will represent the USA at the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Russia from August 19-29.

The roster includes seven players with previous World Cup experience, highlighted by goalkeeper Chris Toth and forwards Alessandro Canale and Nick Perera, who will be appearing in their third FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups (2013 and 2019). David Mondragon, Jason Santos, Gabe Silveira and Lucas Roque also return from the 2019 World Cup team.

The roster includes 11 of the 12 players who helped the U.S. qualify for the World Cup by finishing second at May’s Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship in Costa Rica.

U.S. BEACH SOCCER MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (HOMETOWN)

GOALKEEPERS (3): 12-Esteban Sapetnitzky (Miami, Fla.), 11-Xavier Snaer-Williams (Oceanside, Calif.), 1-Chris Toth (Fallbrook, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (4): 2-Chris Albiston (Virgina Beach, Va.), 3-David Mondragon (Santa Cruz, Calif.), 5-Nicolas Perea (Hallandale Beach, Fla.), 6-Jason Santos (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.)

FORWARDS (7): 4-Tanner Akol (Santa Cruz, Calif.), 9-Alessandro Canale (Venice, Calif.), 13-Fredo Dilbert (Miami, Fla.), 7-Nick Perera (Carlsbad, Calif.), 14-Conner Rezende (Davie, Fla.), 8-Lucas Roque (Sao Paolo, Brazil), 10-Gabriel Silveira (San Francisco, Calif.)

Head Coach: Francis Farberoff

Assistant Coaches: Ben Astorga and Morgan Church

Performance Coach: Daniel Wartner

Drawn into Group A, the USA will face the Russian Football Union, Japan and Paraguay in pool play.

USA – GROUP A SCHEDULE

Thursday, Aug. 19: USA vs. Football Union of Russia (1:30 p.m. ET)
Saturday, Aug. 21: USA vs. Japan (9:30 a.m. ET)
Monday, Aug. 23: USA vs. Paraguay (12 p.m. ET)

Additional Notes:

• The USA has qualified for six of eleven FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups: Brazil 2005, Brazil 2006, Brazil 2007, Tahiti 2013, Paraguay 2019 and Russia 2021.

• The roster includes 11 of the 12 players who were part of the USA’s qualifying campaign at May’s 2021 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship in Costa Rica.

• The USA earned one of two Concacaf berths to the World Cup by defeating Mexico in the tournament semifinals.

• Gabe Silveira led the team in scoring with seven goals, followed by Canale with six.

• Eight other U.S. players scored during qualifying: Nick Perera (four), Jason Santos (three), Nicolas Perea (three), Chris Toth (two), David Mondragon (two), Chris Albiston (two), Fredo Dilbert (two) and Conner Rezende (one).

• Nick Perera is the USA’s all-time leading scorer with 103 tallies in 80 career games, including 41 at World Cup qualifying and seven in his two previous World Cups (two in 2019, five in 2013).

• Canale has four World Cup goals (two in 2013, two in 2019) while Toth and Santos also scored one each in 2019.

• Forward Tanner Akol, who scored 11 goals in the 2019 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship, returns to action after missing nearly two years with knee injuries. Akol suffered a torn ACL in summer 2019 during a game in El Salvador, forcing him to miss the 2019 World Cup. He injured his other knee in fall 2020 and did not recover in time for the 2021 qualifying tournament. Akol returned to competitive action for the first time at June’s 2021 North American Sand Soccer Championships in Virginia Beach, Va.

• Goalkeeper Xavier Snaer-Williams will look to make his international debut.

• Eight players played collegiately and earned degrees: Albiston (William & Mary), Canale (UC-San Diego), Nick Perera (UC-Santa Barbara), Nicholas Perea (Syracuse), Conner Rezende (Virginia / St. Francis) Santos (UC-Davis), Esteban Sapetnitzky (Clark / Babson) and Silveira (San Francisco State).

• Francis Farberoff has played a role in all six U.S. teams at the Beach Soccer World Cup. He is the only player to appear in each of the USA’s first four Beach Soccer World Cups (2005, 2006, 2007, 2013) and served as an assistant coach in 2019.

• Farberoff is assisted by former U.S. teammate Ben Astorga, who also played in the 2005 and 2006 World Cups. Astorga was head coach of Trinidad and Tobago at the 2017 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship.

• Assistant coach Morgan Church brings more than a decade of experience as a coach, technical director, instructor and administrator in the Southeast region. She will also serve as head coach of the U.S. Beach Soccer Women’s National Team at the Women’s Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup, set to be played prior to the World Cup in Moscow.

• FIFA increased rosters for the World Cup from 12 to 14, accounting for the special circumstances encountered by teams due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.