University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Bruins Well-Represented on USA's Beach World Cup Roster
November 20, 2019 | Men's Soccer
The U.S. Beach Soccer Men's National Team, which features four former Bruin players and one former UCLA coach, is set to begin play in the 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup on Thursday, taking on Switzerland at Estadio Mundialista in Asuncion, Paraguay.
The match, Team USA's opening contest in Group A play, is set to kick off at 12:50 p.m. PT and will be televised on FS2.
The 12-man roster is composed of four UCLA alumni, meaning Bruins make up one-third of the active roster. Those former Bruin standouts include goalkeeper Juan Cervantes (2012-16), defender Ryan Futagaki (1998-2002), forward Jason Leopoldo (2005-08), and defender Oscar Reyes (2008-11).
In addition, U.S. head coach Eddie Soto was an assistant coach at UCLA from 2006-2013, helping the Bruins to four Pac-12 Championship and eight NCAA Tournament berths.
Futagaki and Leopoldo will be playing in their second FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, having previously suited up for the red, white, and blue at the 2013 edition in Tahiti. Both players found the back of the net once over the course of five games at the 2013 World Cup. They are also the two longest-tenured players on the squad.
Team USA is joined in group A by Paraguay (ranked No. 7), Switzerland (8), and Japan (12). After opening up against the Swedes on Thursday, Team USA will face off against Japan on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 12:50 p.m. PT before finishing up group play against Paraguay on Monday, Nov. 25 at 4:00 p.m. PT.
