1997 Beach Soccer World Championship
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Brazil |
| Dates | January 14 – January 19 |
| Teams | 8 (from 4 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |
 Brazil (3rd title) |
| Runners-up |
 Uruguay |
| Third place |
 United States |
| Fourth place |
 Argentina |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 144 (9 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
Júnior Venancio Ramos (11 goals) |
| Best player |
Júnior |
| Best goalkeeper |
Paulo Sérgio |
The 1997 Beach Soccer World Championship was the third edition of the Beach Soccer World Championship, an international beach soccer competition contested by men's national teams, which came under the auspices of FIFA in 2005 and was renamed FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. For third consecutive time, the tournament took place at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Brazil won the tournament for the third time in a row. It was also the first time a European team failed to make it past the group stage.
Organisation
The organisation continued to be he same as the previous two years. 8 teams were spit into to groups of 4 teams with 2 teams progressing from each group to the semi-finals.
Teams
From the 8 teams, 3 teams came from Europe, 3 teams came from South America including the hosts Brazil, 1 team from North America and for the first time 1 team from Asia.
European Zone:
South American Zone:
North American Zone:
Asian Zone:
Japan (Newcomers)
Hosts:
- Brazil (South America)
Group stage
Group A
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay |
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 10 | 2 |
| Argentina |
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 2 |
 Italy |
3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
 France |
3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 | -3 |
Group B
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil |
9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 8 | 19 |
| United States |
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 11 | 1 |
 Portugal |
3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 18 | -4 |
| Japan |
0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 21 | -16 |
Semi-Finals
Third Place Play-off
Final
| 1997 Beach Soccer World Cup Winners |
|---|
| |
| Brazil Third Title |
Final team standings
| Position | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil |
| 2 | Uruguay |
| 3 | United States |
| 4 | Argentina |
| 5 | Italy |
| 6 | Portugal |
| 7 | France |
| 8 | Japan |
Awards
Scoring Award
| Position | Scorer | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1= | Júnior (Brazil) |
11 |
| 1= | Venancio Ramos (Uruguay) |
11 |
Best Player Award
| Player |
|---|
| Júnior (Brazil) |
Best Goalkeeper Award
| Player |
|---|
| Paulo Sérgio (Brazil) |