Latest reports from UEFA.com
November 25th - before the finalsUEFA.comHosts and Russia seek consolationSunday 25 November 2007by
Paul Saffer &
Nuno Tavares from Porto
With five minutes to go in their UEFA European Futsal Championship semi-final against holders Spain, Portugal looked like delighting the home fans as they led 2-0. Two Spanish goals, however, forced a shoot-out and the hosts lost 4-3 so their Sunday fixture is instead with Russia for third place.
DisappointmentRussia themselves were hoping to reach a second straight final but fell behind early against Italy and were shut out by the Azzurri defence, despite Cirilo hitting the underside of the crossbar, and eventually were defeated 2-0. "Our mistakes decided the outcome of this game," Russia coach Oleg Ivanov rued, but the 1999 champions never seemed to hit top form, edging their first game against underdogs Serbia 5-3 after seeing a two-goal lead slip, and following a 4-1 defeat of neighbours Ukraine with a similar loss against Spain.
Cirilo bowThere were high spots, notably Cirilo's spectacular hat-trick against Serbia on his competitive debut for his new nation, and the all-round play of Vladislav Shayakhmetov. But Ukraine, Spain and especially Italy were able to frustrate Cirilo and in the semi-finals they came up against an Azzurri side taking futsal defending to a new level of sophistication.
First semi-finalPortugal will be disappointed, but also proud of a magnificent achievement against Spain, who they have never beaten competitively. Indeed, it was Portugal's first semi-final in this tournament, and they now have in their ranks one of the game's brightest talent, 22-year-old fans' favourite Ricardinho.
'Special player'The SL Benfica man, who is tipped for a move to one of Europe's top clubs, scored with a stunning acrobatic bicycle kick last night to put Portugal 2-0 up, "a special goal from a special player" according to Spain coach José Venancio. But that did not take away Ricardinho's frustration at the result.
Bad luck"We had victory in our hands but let it slip away," he told uefa.com. "Once again we were betrayed by our lack of concentration. Before the match we had talked about the possibility of Spain attacking with five players but we just couldn't defend our advantage. We were unlucky but we have to congratulate Spain. Nevertheless I think we deserved a bit more from this tournament."
Final heaveStill, Ricardinho has vowed that they will give their fans something else to cheer when they take on Russia for bronze. "We want to finish in the best possible way and that's what we will try to do on Sunday," he said. "We want to bow out with a win."
UEFA.comCaptains show mutual respectSunday 25 November 2007by
Paul Saffer &
David Baño from Porto
Javi Rodríguez and Nando Grana will shake hands later today as captains in the UEFA European Futsal Championship final but the pair used to line up together for the same team.
Mutual praiseSpain skipper Rodríguez won two UEFA Futsal Cups with Playas de Castellón FS in 2001/02 and 2002/03 and the following season was joined at the club by Italy's Grana, playing alongside each other for two years. Even as they contemplated today's decider in Gondomar, the pair had praise for each other's qualities. "He is one of the best players in the world," Grana said, while Rodríguez added: "He is a very good player. He is the kind of player who performs much better when things are toughest."
World Cup finalBoth captains have plenty of experience of meeting their final opponents at the highest level, not least the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Cup in which they were both involved, Rodríguez unsurprisingly picking Spain's 2-1 win in Chinese Taipei as his most memorable encounter with Italy. Grana, however, goes back a year to a game in which Rodríguez was not involved as his personal favourite.
Respect"My best memory of Spain is when we beat them 2-1 in the semi-finals in Caserta in 2003 and then won the championship," the 28-year-old said before turning his thoughts to this tournament. "We are happy to reach the final and to establish Italy as one of the best countries in the futsal world. We respect our opponents a lot, they are a solid team."
'No weak points'Rodríguez, 33, has no doubt that a close game is in prospect against a team who have already kept a finals record three clean sheets. "I know most of the Italian players, they have no weak points," he said. "It's true that Italy have a very solid defence, but we are the defending world and European champions. We hope it will be a good final which everyone will enjoy."
Shoot-out winHis team reached the final on Friday night with a penalty shoot-out win against hosts Portugal having come back from 2-0 down late on. So does Rodríguez expect the home fans to take against Spain? "They can't shout at us any more than they already have!" he said. "So it does not really matter."
UEFA.comStar names given biggest stageSunday 25 November 2007by
Paul Saffer from Porto
The presence of Spain and Italy in this afternoon's UEFA European Futsal Championship final is no surprise. They met in the decider of the last FIFA Futsal World Cup three years ago in Chinese Taipei, and no continental decider has taken place without one of those teams – though never before with both.
Vicentin starsSpain staged the inaugural European Futsal Tournament in Cordoba in 1996, and dispatched Italy 4-1 in the semi-finals. Awaiting them in the decider were Russia, and their star forward Konstantin Eremenko. But although he scored twice in the final, he was eclipsed by Spain's Vicentin with four goals, including a second-half hat-trick in a 5-3 win.
Spain deniedThree years later the competition was upgraded to championship status and again Spain were hosts and again the overcame the Azzurri in the semi-final, gaining a 3-1 win in Granada. And again Russia were also in the final, but although Spain twice cancelled out leads in the last seven minutes to force a 3-3 draw and penalties, the home team lost the shoot-out, Eremenko converting to complete a 4-2 success.
Extra-time heroicsIn Moscow 2001, Spain and Italy were kept apart in the semi-finals – Javier Lozano's side gaining revenge on the hosts but the Azzurri losing to Ukraine on penalties. The final was another thriller, and Georgiy Melnikov gave Ukraine a second-half lead only for Alberto Riquer to equalise eight minutes from the end and Javi Sánchez to strike the winner in extra-time.
Italy's turnIt was Italy’s turn to host the finals in 2003, and they took full advantage of home support in Caserta. Yet again they were paired with Spain in the semi-finals and although Italy coach Alessandro Nuccorini was serving a suspension his team did him proud in front of a passionate 6,500 crowd. Adriano Foglia was the star, striking late in the first half and again with seven minutes remaining, while goalkeeper Gianfranco Angelini was only beaten by a late Marcio Moratelli own goal. With that win in the bag, Italy went on to clinch the title with a Vinicius Bacaro goal against Ukraine.
World Cup finalA few months before the 2005 finals in Ostrava, Italy and Spain met twice at the World Cup. Italy prevailed 3-2 in the second group stage to avenge a decisive defeat in that round by Spain in 1996. But both teams went through and met again in the final and this time Spain triumphed 2-1 to retain the trophy.
Pyrrhic victorFor the first time in the Czech Republic the Mediterranean rivals were drawn in the same group but when they met on Matchday 3 they were each already through. In a game in which both teams rested key players Italy won 3-1, but it was a Pyrrhic victory as the Azzurri lost in the semi-finals to Russia while Spain defeated Ukraine. The final was a happy one for Spain, as Andreu put them ahead midway through the first half and not long after the interval Alberto Cogorro doubled the lead when he pounced on the rebound after Kike hit the post. Konstantin Dushkevich pulled one back, but like in 1996 and unlike three years later, Spain took the title.
UEFA.comNothing to split futsal finalistsSunday 25 November 2007by
Paul Saffer &
David Baño from Porto
Irresistible force meets immovable object. A well-worn phrase, to put it mildly, but an appropriate summary of Sunday's UEFA European Futsal Championship final in Porto between Spain and Italy.
World championsSpain have proved difficult to resist in recent years, and they are aiming to retain their European title just as they defended the FIFA Futsal World Cup in 2004. But then the Azzurri are the only team ever to beat Spain over 40 minutes in the history of this competition, winning 2-1 in the 2003 semi-finals on their way to taking the title and repeating the trick 3-1 in the group stage two years ago. Spain, though, were to wrest back the crown after Italy lost in the last four to Russia, the very team they defeated on Friday night 2-0 to reach the final.
Clean sheetsThat was Italy's third clean sheet in Porto, a new record for the European finals, the only goal they let in was during their joint-tournament best 7-1 defeat of Romania. "Italy have a very strong defence," Spain coach José Venancio told uefa.com. "They have only conceded one goal in four games. That says it all about their defence. We know that if we want to win this championship there will be some tough periods. It won't be easy."
ComebackBut then Venancio has already had his share of suffering in his first tournament since succeeding three-time European champion coach Javier Lozano in September. Spain's hopes of reaching the semi-finals with a game to spare were dashed by a late Serbia equaliser and in the last four they trailed 2-0 to hosts Portugal with only five minutes remaining before coming back and prevailing on penalties. "We are very happy to be in the final, especially because we have reached it by overcoming an extremely difficult situation, which has given us a great feeling," Venancio said.
Reigning championsHis opposite number Alessandro Nuccorini has seen plenty of Spain over his ten years in charge, and is more than happy to be taking them on again. "It's a great honour to play against Spain, the champions," he said. "On Friday they proved their status, coming back from two goals behind to show their spirit. I want to thank my players for reaching the final. It's already a great achievement being here and we'll try to go a bit further."
FlawlessNuccorini came into the tournament with several players troubled by injury, notably Sandro Zanetti and the man who won their previous European final against Ukraine in 2003, Vinicius Bacaro. But they have returned to fitness and the team have been flawless in Porto. The coach is relying on his men to prove their worth again despite predictions that this meeting of two evenly-matched and familiar teams would come down to a game of attrition. "Tactics are very important but the players are more important," Nuccorini said. "How they feel, the way they react and the way they read the game will be more important than anything else."
November 25-26 - after the finalsUEFA.comIvanov pleased with third-place finishSunday 25 November 2007by
Pavel Gognidze from Porto
Russia coach Oleg Ivanov had praise for his team, especially goalkeeper Sergei Zuev, and also Portugal after the hosts were pipped for third place. Ivanov's opposite number Orlando Duarte identified the key moment as a 30-second first-half spell when a 1-0 home lead turned into a 2-1 deficit.
Oleg Ivanov, Russia coachWe assumed that Portugal would press us and we were ready for that, managing to catch them with our counters. Coach Orlando has a very well-prepared team. We man-marked Ricardinho and Arnaldo today but could not always contain them. Still, the team carried out the coaches' plan and won, maybe with a bit of luck, the Portuguese did hit the post a couple of times and Sergei Zuev was excellent in goal. Zuev is the man, he's a real goalkeeper who can save the team. Everyone expects Russia to be first or at least to play in the final, and that's not something people expect from our football side. It's great to be on top but we're just building a new team. There is a change of generations, and now we have to prepare for [FIFA Futsal] World Cup qualifying.
Orlando Duarte, Portugal coach We can appreciate this European Championship. There is an obvious evolution of the squads which were considered the weakest, Portugal took on the strongest teams and all of this made the European Championship the best ever – the best-organised and with the best-quality teams. The fault of Portugal today is that two minutes were enough for us to concede two goals. In those two minutes we really blew it. Playing a team that is clever and defends well, you can't afford to do something like that. Although we missed enough chances in the second half to win two futsal matches. Still, I hope that with that the championship for Portugal is not over. We expect it to be an incentive for our young players and for futsal in the country to develop.
UEFA.comProlific trio share goalscorer crownSunday 25 November 2007by
Paul Saffer from Porto
Serbia's Predrag Rajić, new Russia star Cirilo and Spain stalwart Daniel ended the UEFA European Futsal Championship finals in Porto as joint-top scorers.
Five-goal tallyKMF Marbo Beograd player Rajić claimed his five goals in only three group games as his team departed at that stage. Going into the final day, Cirilo, Daniel and Portugal starlet Ricardinho were all one goal adrift of Rajić, but only the home player failed to register. Cirilo, who only qualified for Russia this year and made his competitive debut here, struck in the third-place play-off defeat of Portugal and Daniel was on target in the 3-1 final win against Italy.
'Important achievement'Rajić told uefa.com after the Ukraine match: "This is one of the most important achievements of my life. And also for the team it is a big thing to come third in the group, a great moment in our futsal history. Of course we are sad not to be in the semi-finals but we did our best and I hope we have showed all of Europe how good Serbian futsal is."
Roll of honourDaniel, claiming his first final goal in three appearances, Rajić and Cirilo join a magnificent roll of honour as European Championship top scorer. The plaudit was taken twice by both Russia legend Konstantin Eremenko and Ukraine's Serhiy Koridze, and was won in 2005 by Nando Grana of Italy.
Top scorers 2007 UEFA European Futsal Championship finals Player - Country -> Goals
Cirilo - Russia -> 5
Daniel - Spain -> 5
Rajić - Serbia -> 5
Marcelo - Spain -> 4
Ricardinho - Portugal -> 4
Andreu - Spain -> 3
Cheporniuk - Ukraine -> 3
Fabiano - Italy -> 3
Foglia - Italy -> 3
Gonçalo - Portugal -> 3
Matei - Romania -> 3
Dudù - Italy -> 3
Shayakhmetov - Russia -> 3
UEFA.comRussia edge hosts for futsal bronzeSunday 25 November 2007by
Paul Saffer from Multiusos Gondomar Coração de Ouro
Vladislav Shayakhmetov's goal moments after a Portugal equaliser gave Russia third place in the UEFA European Futsal Championship.
Russian medalThe hosts led through Gonçalo but Cirilo and Aleksandr Fukin put Russia ahead by half-time. Leitão seemed to have forced a penalty shoot-out, but Shayakhmetov had other ideas and Russia maintain their record of only once missing out on a medal in this tournament.
Portugal aheadBoth teams were clearly keen on ending their tournament on a high in a competitive start with both goalkeepers called into action several times in the first few minutes. Midway through the half Israel hit the post for Portugal after an excellent Leitão cross and not long after Arnaldo struck the crossbar. And the hosts went ahead in the 15th minute when Sergei Zuev blocked an Arnaldo effort only for the ball to bounce back off the goalkeeper to the grateful Gonçalo in front of goal.
TurnaroundCirilo soon equalised, taking his tournament tally to a joint finals-leading five when Konstantin Maevski robbed Ricardinho in the Russia half and strode to the other end before crossing to his Brazilian-born team-mate to score. Within 30 seconds Russia went ahead though Fukin's fine run and powerful shot.
Revival thwartedPortugal emerged for the second half in determined mood but it took 15 minutes for them finally to beat Zuev again, Leitão applying a neat finish. But within a minute Konstantin Dushkevich's shot was blocked by Ricardinho and Shayakhmetov pounced to turn in the rebound. He hit the post near the end but victory was complete.
UEFA.comMaster Lozano inspired VenancioSunday 25 November 2007by
Pete Sanderson from Porto
Spain coach José Venancio, who only took succeeded the long-serving Javier Lozano in September, shared the glory with his predecessor after their UEFA European Futsal Championship final victory against Italy. Venancio, who is also continuing to coach club Autos Lobelle de Santiago FS this season, will take over the national team job full time in the summer and his opposite number Alessandro Nuccorini rued: "We can only hope that perhaps one day Spain won't be perfect."
José Venancio, Spain coachCongratulations to Italy for making the final the spectacle that it was. They played their part in what was a fantastic end to the tournament. We trained hard before the finals with one month of intense work. We felt we were fully prepared to last for the whole tournament both physically and mentally. Maybe we didn't start off as a the perfect team but I think we finished with people thinking that Spain were the best team here. Admittedly we had luck along the way, especially in the semi-final against Portugal, a match we could easily have lost. In the final we scored at the perfect times from a coaching point of view. Suddenly Italy found themselves in a completely different situation, they were forced to attack, they were forced to fight and I think our superior fitness told in the end. In the second half Italy looked very tired. I'd like to dedicate this victory to my players and thank my family for their patience but I think this is a time to say thank you to the man that taught me everything, my master Javier Lozano. I worked with him for 15 years and every good thing I have done at this tournament I learned from him. He left me with a class team. As of 30 June, I will be doing this job full time.
Alessandro Nuccorini, Italy coachI congratulate Spain, I was a little bit disappointed with the way we played after playing what many described as a perfect match against Russia. I know my team gave their all but it was no surprise that we looked tired in the second half after what has been a tough tournament physically. It was a new experience for my players to find themselves a goal behind but we were still in it until the goal early in the second half. Suddenly Spain showed the class we knew they had and they had a magical nine minutes. Looking to the future I think my team have the talent to win a tournament like this, we can only hope that perhaps one day Spain won't be perfect.
UEFA.com'A fantastic moment of joy' Sunday 25 November 2007by
David Baño &
Nuno Tavares from Porto
Spain are celebrating becoming the first team to retain the UEFA European Futsal Championship, making it four continental titles in six competitions with a 3-1 win against Italy. Captain Javi Rodríguez lifted the trophy after scoring for the first time in three personal European final triumphs, while Marcelo struck the opening goal from which Spain never looked back and Álvaro was Carlsberg Man of the Match after a stunning performance. uefa.com spoke to all three as well as Italy's Adriano Foglia.
Javi Rodríguez, Spain captain[Lifting the trophy] was a fantastic moment of joy. It has been a difficult tournament. We had to beat the best team in the tournament prior to the final. Italy had only conceded one goal before today. But in the final, we only saw one colour, which was the red of Spain. We played five matches and they were five finals. We had to go step by step. We were only thinking about the next game and I think we fully deserved this title. We are never bored of winning. We always want to be in the final, and we have to carry on working for that.
Marcelo, opening goalscorerIt was an amazing feeling [to win]. Maybe even more because it has not been easy. The other teams have improved. It's been difficult from the beginning until the end. I want to congratulate Italy for their performance, but we managed to score more goals than them and that made the difference. I'm really happy I could share this moment with my son. He is my energy and I dedicate this victory to him. He has already started playing and will surely become a great player.
Álvaro, Carlsberg Man of the MatchI'm not used to receiving these type of rewards. I'm very happy with my game, but I would have never achieved anything without my team-mates. This was my second European finals. The first one was in Italy and things did not go as we wanted. It feels good to win my first title, even more so because we played Italy in the final.
Adriano Foglia, Italy We started well but Spain goalkeeper Luis Amado made two or three fantastic saves and than they managed to score a goal. We all know just how hard it is get back in the game against a team like Spain and I think they deserved to win tonight. We did very well in this European Championship and now we must keep our heads up, especially because we did finished second, which is still very good. We will have to pick ourselves up and start thinking about the next tournament. Sometimes the best team doesn't win. Portugal deserved to beat Spain and Italy were playing better than Spain right until the final. The team who makes fewer mistakes wins and now we must quickly forget this game
UEFA.comSuperb Spain retain futsal titleSunday 25 November 2007by
Paul Saffer from Multiusos Gondomar Coração de Ouro
Spain retained their UEFA European Futsal Championship crown with a clinical performance to defeat Italy in the final in Gondomar.
Fourth titleÁlvaro, in superb form, made the opener for Marcelo – who also scored in the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Cup final defeat of Italy – and the same player created another early in the second half for Daniel. Spain captain Javi Rodríguez added a third and although Italy goalkeeper Alexander Feller pulled one back, the 2003 champions could not deny their opponents a fourth European title in six tournaments.
Álvaro intentThe holders began the game the brightest, Álvaro in particular probing with intent. Jordi Torras robbed Saad Assis and broke but Alexander Feller was equal to his shot. On a counterattack Adriano Foglia came close for Italy, and Assis had an effort tipped over by Luis Amado.
Spain aheadMarcelo was denied by Feller only to then become the second played to beat the Italy No1 in these finals as he headed in at the far post following a superb jinking Álvaro run and cross. Nando Grana so nearly responded for Italy, but Amado got the slightest of touches on his shot to turn the ball on to the post. Álvaro forced a save from Feller with a low drive, while at the other end Foglia's strike was pushed above the bar by Amado, who also denied Carlos Morgado and 2003 final matchwinner Vinicus Bacaro just before the break as the Azzurri ended the half in attacking fashion.
Second goalBut then Spain began the second period by scoring. Álvaro was again the creator as his shot was parried by Feller, and Daniel put the ball in on the rebound to join finals joint-leading scorers Predrag Rajić and Cirilo on five goals. Italy now needed to push and Sandro Zanetti became the latest player frustrated by Amado who went on to block an Edgar Bertoni effort.
Captain strikesRodríguez at 33 had won two European finals in the past but until today had not scored in this showpiece. But that changed after a fine cross from Marcelo, converted with aplomb by a man who struck twice to win the 2000 FIFA Futsal World Cup final. Grana's shot was saved by Amado, but with ten minutes left the Spain keeper was beaten by his opposite number as the advanced Feller blasted in from distance.
Azzurri shut outThat gave Italy fresh impetus and Grana took over as a flying goalkeeper, even saving from Javi Eseverri. Zanetti, Assis and Foglia shot wide and Amado stopped a Grana effort with his boot, but Spain are an experienced and formidable unit at the back and the two-time world champions became the first side to successfully defend the European crown.
UEFA.comJoel bemoans Portugal 'failure'Monday 26 November 2007by
Nuno Tavares &
Paul Saffer from Porto
Portugal did better than they had ever done before by reaching the UEFA European Futsal Championship semi-finals – but one of their key players, Joel Queirós, is far from happy with their fourth-placed finish.
'Failure'The hosts led Spain 2-0 in the semi-finals only to be pegged back and lose on penalties and on Sunday they were pipped to bronze 3-2 by Russia, after scoring first, letting in two goals within 30 seconds, equalising and swiftly conceding again. When asked what he thought of their campaign, Joel told uefa.com: "I have to say it was a failure. We should have been in the final, especially after showing for 35 minutes against Spain just how strong we are. However everything crumbled in just five minutes and we could only manage to finish fourth."
FocusFIFA Futsal World Cup qualifying begins in a few months time, and the 25-year-old MRA Navarra FS man believes Portugal need to regroup quickly. "It is a disappointment to be winning and then in just one or two minutes allow our opponents to come back and steal the game," Joel said. "We will have to work very hard on our mentality. Now we must focus our attention on the next World Cup and approach that competition in the same way we did here but without making the same mistakes which ultimately cost us a medal."
*There was one consolation for Portugal, as they won the Fair Play prize, finishing ahead of Russia and Italy.
UEFA.comThe futsal EURO dream dozenMonday 26 November 2007by
Paul Saffer from Porto
The continent's finest sides put on a magnificent display in the UEFA European Futsal Championship, which concluded last night. uefa.com's reporting team in the Porto region have selected 12 players, including at least one from all eight squads, who shone during the intense nine-day event won by Spain.
Alexander Feller (Italy)
Long-standing Azzurri goalkeeper Gianfranco Angelini was absent for personal reasons but his understudy stepped up and kept a finals record three clean sheets with some nerveless displays. He even proved he could score with the last goal of the tournament to pull the final deficit to Spain back to 3-1.
Luis Amado (Spain)
While Feller let in fewer goals, Amado continued to prove his high class, not least by keeping Spain in their semi-final against Portugal before saving from Joel Queirós in the penalty shoot-out and then making a succession of fine stops in the decider against Italy.
Ricardinho (Portugal)
The 22-year-old announced himself as one of the game's brightest new talents when he scored the goal of the tournament to put Portugal 2-0 up against Spain with an audacious overhead kick. The hosts eventually lost but Ricardinho will be involved in many victories to come.
Marko Perić (Serbia)
Ricardinho's rival as young player of the tournament, Perić also looks set to join a leading European club after the finals and was singled out by technical observer Vic Hermans as a truly skilful talent in a tactical event.
Vladislav Shayakhmetov (Russia)
The all-round play of Shayakhmetov was important to Russia, not least his goals in tricky games against Serbia and Ukraine that helped them through to the semi-finals and the winner against Portugal that secured bronze.
Roman Mareš (Czech Republic)
It was a miserable tournament for the Czech Republic but the experienced Mareš, along with younger brother Michal, justified ending their international retirements as they kept their team competitive.
Serhiy Sytin (Ukraine)
Ukraine too disappointed but the skilful Sytin still had his moments as, at 25, he assumed a leadership role in the tournament's youngest squad.
Cirilo (Russia)
The Brazilian-born player made his competitive debut on Matchday 1 against Serbia and scored a hat-trick of stunning goals. That each subsequent opponent based their tactics around shackling Cirilo proves his importance and he finished joint top scorer with Predrag Rajić of Serbia and Spain's Daniel on five.
Fabiano Assad (Italy)
The statistics prove he was the most important defender in the tournament's best backline, at least before the final, and he knew where the target was at the other end with the scorching clincher in the last-four defeat of Russia, a game in which he was superb.
Kike (Spain)
With more than 100 caps to his name and now three European titles, Kike is still one of the most important players in the game. He rallied the holders with calming words when they went two down to Portugal, and it takes something to shine in a team whose outfield players include the likes of Daniel, captain Javi Rodríguez and final star Álvaro.
Florin Matei (Romania)
Romania achieved the best result ever by any team on a UEFA European Futsal Championship finals debut with their 8-4 opening defeat of the Czech Republic and Matei struck a hat-trick aided by captain Gabriel Molomfalean, the duo together scoring a combined total of 17 goals in this competition including qualifying.
Predrag Rajić (Serbia)
The experienced Rajić claimed five goals to finish as joint-top scorer despite his team's group stage exit, playing three games to Cirilo and Daniel's five. His most memorable strike was the last-gasp equaliser against Spain that kept his team in contention for Matchday 3.
Team selected by David Baño, Pavel Gognidze, Nuno Tavares & Paul Saffer
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