U.S. Futsal National Team drawn in Group A for 2012 CONCACAF Futsal Championship

The U.S. Futsal National Team joins host Guatemala, Panama and the winner of a playoff between Canada and El Salvador in Group A of the 2012 CONCACAF Futsal Championship. The draw was held Thursday at the Intercontinental Hotel in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

The tournament will be played July 2-8 at the Domo Polideportivo in Guatemala City. CONCACAF will announce a complete schedule in the coming days.

For the first time, CONCACAF will send four teams to a FIFA Futsal World Cup. The 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup is being held Nov. 2-18 in Thailand.

To determine the last Group A qualifier, Canada and El Salvador face off in a two-leg playoff on July 28 and 29 at the Domo Polideportivo. Group B will consist of Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico and St. Kitts and Nevis.

The U.S. has won two of the four previous CONCACAF Futsal Championships, in 1996 and 2004. Costa Rica won in 2000 and Guatemala took first in 2008. In 2008, the USA reached the Futsal World Cup but failed to advance out of the group stage.

U.S. Futsal head coach Keith Tozer’s group wrapped up a domestic training camp from April 1-7 in Torrance, Calif. The team will reconvene in May with a 22-player training camp in Los Angeles. In early June, the team is heading to Guatemala to play four tune-up matches against professional futsal teams. The USA returns to Guatemala on June 27 in preparation for the July 2-8 CONCACAF Futsal Championship.