Andorra's futsal team lose 4-0 to Serbia in World Cup Main Round opener

Andorra's national futsal team lost 4-0 to Serbia in Požarevac on Friday in its opening Group 8 match of the World Cup Main Round, bringing an end to a three-match winning run built during an unbeaten preliminary campaign.

Coach Talin Puyalto's side held out for the opening 12 minutes at the Sports Hall in Požarevac but conceded three goals in the closing seven minutes of the first half. Petrov opened the scoring in the 13th minute, Tomic doubled the lead in the 18th and Marinkovic made it 3-0 immediately afterwards, leaving Andorra facing a steep deficit at the interval.

Aleksic added Serbia's fourth in the 25th minute, effectively settling the contest. He was sent off six minutes later, leaving the hosts a player short, but Andorra could not find a way through the Serbian defence and the score remained unchanged until the final whistle.

Puyalto started with Màxim Pons in goal behind Oriol Rodríguez, Pol Villalta, Christian Regalo and Brayan Dos Santos. Serbia, coached by Marko Gavrilovic, fielded a side with greater international experience and physical strength — a challenge Omar Ávila had flagged before the match.

Andorra had reached the Main Round after winning all three of its preliminary round fixtures, a run that had raised hopes of competing against higher-ranked opposition. The step up in level proved considerable, and Puyalto's team will need to take points from stronger rivals to keep its qualification hopes alive.

The team's next opportunity comes on Friday, November 6, at 20:00 at the pavelló Toni Martí, where Andorra will host the Netherlands in its first home fixture of the phase. The Netherlands is the third team in Group 8 alongside Andorra and Serbia.