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They then narrowly lost to defending champions Portugal in the semi-finals and to Uruguay in the third-place playoff.  The achievement must be a big relief for Thailand's French coach who got a cool 500,000 baht for the one-month job of coaching the side. The success will surely act as a major boost for concerned parties in Thailand who hope to make the sport a hit in the Kingdom.

Beach soccer is still a very young sport in Thailand. It was introduced here only last year when Cantona and his French team-mates played an exhibition match against a Thai team featuring former national star Piyapong Piew-on.

In fact, the sport itself is still young _ professional beach soccer was born in the United States only in 1992.

The man who should get much of the credit for putting Thailand on the beach soccer map is Prapuet Kamlang-ek of Pro Beach Soccer Co, which was established to market the sport in Thailand.

It was Prapuet who brought Cantona to Thailand last year. Boosted by the Thai team's fine performance in the World Championship, Pro Beach Soccer Co plans to spend around 20 million baht to organise a high-profile King's Cup international beach soccer tournament later this year.

The firm also plans to bid for the right to stage the Under-21 World Championship here next year. While the Thai team's success in Brazil will help people here to find out more about beach soccer, it remains to be seen whether the sport will become popular here.

Beach soccer may look like an inexpensive sport to play as players do not need footwear, but it is quite difficult to find a sandy pitch to play outside the seaside areas. Making a sandy pitch is not cheap. When Cantona played in Bangkok last year, organisers had to invest a huge sum to turn the Muang Thong Arena into a beach soccer pitch. This is unlike normal soccer which you can play anywhere _ on the street, in paddy fields or in any space you can find.

Many people find beach soccer exciting. According to the official beach soccer website: ``The sport of beach soccer is spectacular. The sand adds another element to the sport, putting aerobic strength, teamwork and individual skills to the test.''

However, several people who watched the World Championship on TV said it lacked continuity as the ball often went out of bounds with just one kick.

Many see the sport as purely a venue for former soccer stars or lesser-known players to make money.

Cantona knows all about this only too well!

Even the Thai squad for the World Championship comprised a former national team player _ goalkeeper Wilat Nomcharoen. It also contained Yutthana Polsak, who has played for the national sides in normal soccer and the five-a-side team. Organising international events here is a good idea and will help promote tourism in Thailand.

But encouraging Thai kids to start playing beach soccer is likely to be a difficult task. After all, most youngsters are likely to see proper soccer or five-a-side football as a better choice _ both in terms of finance and fame.