Full House

That just about describes the the Intercontinental Rio at this point - a full house. All five teams from Group B are staying here, and as of yesterday they've all arrived. Between the five teams, four different confederations are represented - CONEMBOL, CONCACAF, AFC and UEFA - so you know there were some major travel hours logged en route to Rio.

Some random notes:

- Both Paraguay and Italy are familiar hotel mates for the U.S. After all, the U.S. played both of them in the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Cup.
- Right now the coolest piece of official team apparel is the Fanny Pack sported by members of the Italian coaching staff.
- The blog hasn't actually seen the Thailand team yet. Apparently they're here, so we'll believe the authorities...this time.
- If you thought five teams in one hotel was crowded, imagine all of us sharing a meal room! Actually it doesn't get too crazy though. The aforementioned authorities have done a good job of spacing out meal times enough that there's only ever one other team in the buffet line at any given time. The food is kept well stocked too, which is an essential.

For now, we're off to training, but later the guys will be heading to the Marcanã to take in a game. Flamengo is playing tonight, and the team has been fortunate enough to acquire tickets for the game. It should be a great experience.