Russia will face Spain in a European Championship futsal final for the fourth time Saturday after knocking out hosts Croatia Thursday’s semi-final.
Russia beat Croatia 4-2, sealing the win with three first-half goals that proved too much for the hosts, who mounted a late comeback. Five-time European champions Spain beat Italy 1-0 in Thursday’s other semi-final.
“I’m happy because we undertook a big job preparing for the tournament and now we're in the final,” Russian coach Sergei Skorovich told the UEFA website Friday. “We won't stop now and will do our best in the next game,” he said.
Skorovich stressed the importance of Russia's first goal, which came within 60 seconds of the start. “We wanted to play excellent futsal from the off to show we were stronger than Croatia. We were lucky to score in the first minute. It's very important to do so in this type of game”.
Veteran Russian defender Konstantin Maevski, who had scored three goals in three appearances so far in the tournament, was dropped for the semifinal.
“Konstantin Maevski is not young, he was a little tired. We understood that if we reached the final we would need him, so we decided to give him a rest”.
Spain winger Torras told the website that his team were looking forward to facing their old rivals again.
“We know Russia very well. They have two very good quintets, one that plays with power up front and one that moves the ball very well. They are always in the final or semi-finals. They are a team that always wants to dominate, like us, so I think it will be a great game,” he said.
Russia won the 1999 European Championships in Granada by beating Spain on penalties in the final after a 3-3 draw, but lost to Spain in the 1996 and 2005 finals.
At the 2010 European Championships in Hungary, Russia lost in the quarterfinal to Spain, the eventual winners, on sudden death penalties after a scoreless draw.
