Courtesy: CCTV.com


Serbs surprise Russia, Spain trounce Portugal at Euro Futsal Finals

25/1/2010

BUDAPEST, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Serbia beat Russia 4-3 while Spain thrashed Portugal 6-1 on the final day of the group stages of the UEFA European Futsal Championships on Saturday.

Serbia came back from 2-0 down to pip Russia at the end, the second spectacular second half turnaround of the tournament following the Czech Republic's dramatic clawback of a four-goal deficit against competition hosts Hungary on Saturday.

The Serbs struggled to contain the Russians in the first-half and trailed 2-0 early in the second half. A four goal brace within six minutes, however, blasted the Russians out of the game and off the top spot in Group C.

Serbia's reward for topping the group is to stay in their Budapest venue for their semifinal with Portugal on Tuesday, while Russia must travel to Debrecen to take on tournament favorites Spain also on Tuesday.

Spain's rout of Iberian rivals Portugal followed their 9-1 blitz of Belarus earlier in the tournament, positioning the Spanish as tournament favorites.

The other quarterfinals involve surprise package Azerbaijan versus Ukraine in Budapest and Italy versus the Czech Republic in Debrecen. Both games take place on Monday.


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com