Groups drawn for goalball at Rio 2016

Reigning men’s Paralympic champions Finland will face European title winner Turkey, women’s champions Japan drawn with world gold medallists USA. 05 May 2016

Finland's Petri Posio and Erkki Miinala block the ball during their gold-medal match at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

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The groups for the men’s and women’s goalball competition at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games were drawn on Wednesday (4 May) at the Future Arena, the sport’s venue located in the Barra Olympic Park.

In the 10-team men’s tournament, world champions Brazil were joined by African champions Algeria, Canada, Germany and Sweden in Group A.

Defending Paralympic gold medallists Finland were drawn with European champions Turkey, USA, Asian champions China and Lithuania in Group B.

“It's an awful draw for us,” admitted Finland coach Timo Laitinen. “The beginning will be very tough, but if we win our games, our semi-final could be easier.”

In the women’s tournament, hosts Brazil will face world champions USA, London 2012 gold medallists Japan, African champions Algeria and Israel in a tough-looking Group C.

Group D features European champions Turkey, London 2012 silver medallists China, Russia, Canada and Ukraine.

Goalball competition will take place between 8-16 September.

Sport fans from around the world can now buy their Paralympic tickets for Rio 2016 from authorised ticket resellers (ATRs)

The IPC’s Global ATR is Jet Set Sports, and Rio 2016 tickets and packages can be purchased on the CoSport website.

Residents of Brazil can buy 2016 Paralympics tickets directly from the Rio 2016 website.