Holders first through in South America

Reigning champions and four-time winners Brazil have qualified for the FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand 2012. The Brazilians became the first team to qualify from the ongoing South American qualifiers, which they are also hosting, when they won their third match in succession, beating Argentina 3-0, to reach the semi-finals. It has been an awesome show of strength from the world champions thus far, with their three Group A opponents dispatched by an aggregate score of 27-1. Bolivia were beaten 15-1 in their opening encounter, while Peru found themselves victims of a 9-0 thrashing before Brazil got round to securing qualification against their oldest rivals. Futsal legend Falcao has also proved that, even at 34, his predatory skills remain as impressive as ever, with six goals thus far enabling him to top the tournament’s scoring chart. Despite their defeat, Argentina are nonetheless within touching distance of the last four themselves and can make sure of a place with a victory over Peru in their next match. In Group B, meanwhile, Paraguay are also within a single victory of making it through, having beaten Ecuador and Venezuela 3-0 and 6-0 respectively. All four semi-finalists in the South American qualifiers, which conclude on 22 April, qualify for Thailand 2012.