Spain beat Portugal to take UEFA Euro futsal title
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Spain beat Portugal 4-2 in the final of the UEFA European Futsal Championships on Saturday to claim their third futsal title in a row.
Spain had excelled throughout the twelve-day tournament and began the final as strong favorites. They had already beaten Portugal 6-1 in the group stages, while the game, held in Debrecen, was Portugal's first ever final. Portugal's best finish to date was fourth place in the previous tournament in 2007.
Despite dominating possession, it took 14 minutes for Spain to break through a stubborn Portuguese defense with a goal from Ortiz. They added a second goal soon after when captain Javi Rodriguez back-heeled the ball into the net through the legs of Portuguese defender Israel.
The second half saw continued Spanish domination of possession and dogged resistance from their Iberian neighbors. A straightforward victory seemed assured though when Lin put Spain three up with four minutes to go. In a remarkable finish however, Goncalo Alves and Joel Queiros pulled two goals back for Portugal within a minute. As Portugal frantically chased for an equalizer, Spain's Daniel made it 4-2 with just a few seconds left on the clock. Spain have now won five out of the seven UEFA futsal titles held to date.
Tournament top scorers along with Rodriguez and Queiros were Saad Assis of Italy and Biro Jade of Azerbaijan. Each scored five goals during the competition.
In the third place play-off the Czech Republic beat Azerbaijan 5-3.
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