UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 Matchday 1 Friday preview: Belarus vs Belgium, Slovenia vs Spain

The UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 action comes to 2018 finals venue Arena Stožice in Ljubljana on Friday as Group C kicks off with Belarus playing Belgium and co-hosts Slovenia up against record champions Spain.

Saturday's games are also in Ljubljana when Group D begins with holders Portugal launching their title defence, before Matchday 2 commences on Sunday.

Group C: Belarus vs Belgium (17:30, Ljubljana)

The group starts with two teams ending a long finals absence, Belarus making their first appearance since their 2010 debut and Belgium having last taken part as hosts in 2014. Belarus left former champions Italy and 2022 quarter-finalists Finland behind them in a series of efficient qualifying displays, overseen by Aleksandr Chernik, a veteran of those 2010 finals when both their games produced ten goals (a 9-1 loss to Spain and 5-5 draw with Portugal).

Belgium delivered a brilliant 7-2 first-leg home defeat of Bosnia and Herzegovina on their way to play-off success and now hope to secure their first finals win since taking bronze in the inaugural 1996 event – having not registered a victory in 1999, 2003, 2010 or 2014. Karim Bachar, who played in three final tournaments, is their coach and can call on 2014 veteran Omar Rahou as well as plenty of young talent.

Vladislav Selyuk, Belarus captain: "Everyone understands that a lot will depend on the first match against Belgium, so all our thoughts are on that right now. I won't say much about it. I'll just say that we'll give our all and try to please all our fans with our performance."

Jasper Buyl, Belgium player: "The euphoria was immense when we managed to qualify for the European Championship at the expense of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Now that we've got this far, we want to make a good impression. We start as underdogs. That's not a statement, it's a fact. Our three opponents are all higher in the European rankings. Still, we can hope."

Group C: Slovenia vs Spain (20:30, Ljubljana)

Slovenia, who qualified by right before being added as a co-host, return to the venue where they staged the 2018 finals for an encounter with seven-time champions Spain. Coach Tomislav Horvat counts on a strong mix of emerging talent like Lovro Trdin and Luka Čop – who helped Slovenia reach the 2023 U19 Futsal EURO semis – and stalwarts such as Igor Osredkar, playing at his record-equalling seventh final tournament and the hero of the dramatic 2-1 comeback win against Italy that took the hosts through their group in 2018.

In that tournament, Spain lost the final to Portugal and it is now a decade since their last major honour, at EURO 2016. Having taken over as coach after Spain's 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup round of 16 exit, Jesús Velasco has revamped the squad, and results since then are ominous for all opponents. David Novoa has replaced Dani Zurdo in the squad due to injury.

Tomislav Horvat, Slovenia coach: "We have faced Spain several times in the past, and the truth is their style of play doesn't change that much. They have amazing players, and they play the game really fast. I think that we always play better when we face strong opponents, and I believe we have the quality to take the game to Spain.

"Undoubtedly, this will be our most difficult game in the group because, for me, Spain is the best team in Europe. We cannot play the same way Spain does because we have our own style, and we have some weaknesses that we must avoid in order to get a positive result. We want to show our fighting spirit, our discipline, and our concentration in each second of the match. We played against Spain one year ago and we drew 1-1. I hope we have the same level tomorrow."

Jesús Velasco, Spain coach: "For us, this is the most difficult match of the tournament because it is the first one. We will face a very tough opponent who plays at home in front of their fans. We are fully aware that it will be very hard in all aspects of the game. We will do our best to execute our plan and win, but I will repeat myself in saying that it's not going to be easy at all. 

"Slovenia are a team that have had the same playing style for a long time, and I have faced many Slovenian clubs in the past. They are very compact, consistent, and very good in transitions and set-pieces. Our preparation for this tournament was not ideal, but that's the price you pay when you have such a demanding league in Spain."