Brazil retain world beach soccer crown beating Switzerland 10-5

The latest FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup ended in familiar fashion on Sunday, with Brazil seeing off Switzerland to collect the trophy for the fourth year running.

The Swiss battled bravely, but with their goalscorer-in-chief Dejan Stankovic having an off-day by his standards, they were unable to match the South Americans superior finishing power.

As Brazil eased off towards the end of the final, Switzerland took advantage to make the scoreline a little more respectable. The five goals they eventually scored were more than the Brazilians had ever conceded in the final before.

By way of consolation, however, the Swiss striker collected the adidas Golden Ball as the outstanding player of the tournament and also made off with the adidas Golden Shoe, awarded to the top scorer.

FINAL : Brazil 10-5 Switzerland
3rd/4th : Portugal 14:7 Uruguay

Visit FIFA's beach soccer mini-site for more

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FIFA Beach Soccer Final is Brazil v ... Switzerland ??

Brazil reached the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup final for the fourth year in succession after easily disposing of Portugal, and will now meet the tournament's surprise package Switzerland, who enjoyed a comfortable win over Uruguay in the other semi-final.

Brazil strolled into a 4-0 lead at the end of the first period before running out 8-2 winners over the Europeans.

In the other semi-final, Dejan Stankovic was again the key man for Switzerland, who scored four of the seven team goals against Uruguay, a team renowned for their defensive qualities.

The semi-final results
Portugal 2-8 Brazil
Switzerland 7-4 Uruguay

The final will be played on Sunday evening on the sands of Jumeirah Beach, Dubai, kicking off at 21:00 local time (5pm London)

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2009 FIFA Beach Soccer Finals in Dubai this week

From 16-22 November, Jumeirah Beach in Dubai will be the setting for the fifth FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

France won the inaugural tournament, but since 2006 Brazil have won this annual tournament every year, and in Dubai, will be looking for their fourth consecutive title.

Brazil have not been beaten in the competition since their semi-final defeat to Portugal in 2005, where they lost on penalties after a 6-6 draw.

Switzerland have started the tournament with a 6-5 win over Bahrain, in a format where the traditional powers do not always have the same edge as in the 11-man game.

This was underlined in just the second game of the tournament when Oceania champions Solomon Islands beat Uruguay 7-6, after leading 7-2 with just six minutes to go.

Check out all the action on the beach soccer section of the FIFA website - and you can get bets on this event at Victor Chandler's sportsbook all week.

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