ATLANTA (Dec. 9, 2025) – Marcelo Mendes has been named the first full-time head coach of the U.S. Men’s Beach Soccer National Team, one of the original showcase teams of U.S. Soccer’s Extended National Teams program. Mendes brings a wealth of experience to his new role at U.S. Soccer, including previous head coaching experience with United Arab Emirates, Japan and China PR, and he will begin guiding the team immediately as preparations get underway for the 2027 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup cycle.
This full-time hire is a powerful reflection of the Federation’s commitment to the U.S. Way, showcasing the organization's investment in resources, infrastructure, and comprehensive support for the Extended National Teams, ensuring they are fully prepared to compete and succeed on the world stage.
Mendes brings more than 28 years of high-level coaching experience in the Beach game to U.S. Soccer, coaching three different national teams at a total of seven FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups. Most recently he served as the head coach for the China Beach Soccer National Team from 2022 to 2025 and before that had lengthy tenures with Japan (2014-2017) – leading them at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2015 and 2017 and the United Arab Emirates (2007-2014) – guiding them at the Beach Soccer World Cups in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2013. He also managed Thailand at the 2005 Beach Soccer World Cup, and has previous coaching experience with the Uruguay, South Africa and Kuwait Beach Soccer National Teams.
“I am very pleased, happy and excited to take on the role of head coach for the U.S. Men's Beach Soccer National Team,” said Mendes. “I truly believe in our enormous potential to develop and reach the level of the world’s top teams — and this will be our greatest challenge. I would like to thank U.S. Soccer for the trust placed in my work. I will give my best, together with the players and the entire staff, to achieve the results our country deserves.”
Mendes also has an array of international club coaching experience that has seen him guide teams professionally in his native Brazil, as well as Italy, the U.S., Japan, China and other locales.
Using a developmental mindset, Mendes has built a reputation predicated on creating long-lasting foundations for the beach soccer ecosystems within the nations he has served. He has also been a long-time FIFA Beach Soccer Expert for Beach Soccer Worldwide, the governing body of the sport of Beach Soccer.
“This is an important milestone for U.S. Soccer, as we appoint a full-time head coach of the Men’s Beach Soccer National Team for the first time,” said Stuart Sharp, Head of U.S. Soccer’s Extended National Teams. “Following a thorough process, we identified Marcelo as the right fit based on his national team experience, work with top-level players, and understanding of how to build a winning culture within a federation. He has a clear focus on improving the current group while identifying new talent, and we believe his experience and fresh approach will help move the program to the next level.”
U.S. Soccer will stage a training camp in South Florida in January 2026 for the current player pool as a first evaluation point for Mendes, before scheduling a number of international competitions in the spring. The second half of 2026 will see the Beach MNT begin taking advantage of year-round training opportunities at the new state-of-the-art beach soccer training facilities at the Arthur M. Blank National Training Center opening in Fayetteville, Georgia in the spring of 2026.
For more information on the sport of beach soccer or to inquire about athlete eligibility, please contact U.S. Soccer's Extended National Teams Department via email at extendednt@ussoccer.org.
The U.S. Way is a shared philosophy, a strategy and a practical toolkit to enable excellence at every level of the game and for us to win. The U.S. Way is intended to work in partnership between the club and National Team environment to cultivate the next generation of talent with three areas of focus: World Class Development Pathways and Environments, including scaled Talent Identification, expanded Youth National Team programming and accelerated development and foundation building across the Extended National Teams; Shared and Scaled Infrastructure, highlighted by the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center, U.S. Way digital platform and unified youth calendar; and Professional Development for the Entire Ecosystem, featuring formal courses, technical and administrative staff community building, leadership development, and best practice resource sharing. For more information, visit ussoccer.com/ourvision/us-way.