Big upsets to kickoff Futsal Euro 2014

Matchday 1 of the UEFA Futsal Euro provided a pair of surprising results.

STANDINGS AND LINKS TO MATCHES BELOW

COURTESY: UEFA.com

There are four serious contenders for Europe’s top national competition; Russia, Spain, Italy, and Portugal. But Croatia and Slovenia had something to say about that in their opening bouts.

Four time defending champions Spain were held to a shock 3-3 draw against Croatia on Tuesday in Group D. It’s the best result for the Balkan nation against Spain after losing five straight in tournament play. They also scored more goals in this one match than they did combined in their previous meetings against the futsal juggernaut.

It wasn’t the only shock result of the day as Slovenia earned their first ever Euro win in a big way as they defeated former champions Italy 3-2.They now sit in prime position in Group C going into their final match

Group B is going as expected as Portugal eliminated the Netherlands with a 5-0 result on Thursday and will now face Russia on Saturday (12:30pm EST) in what is expected to be one of the best matches of the tournament. Portuguese stars Cardinal and Ricardinho will face Cirilo and recent World Goalkeeper of the year Gustavo in a star studded game.

In Group A action, tournament hosts Belgium will need a big win on Friday otherwise they will be eliminated and they’ll be in tough against Ukraine who can clinch top spot in the group with a draw.

Although there unfortunately no television providers in Canada showing matches you can watch the UEFA Futsal Euro live online for free at any streaming site that has EuroSport 2. www.hahasport.com and www.atdhe.to have multiple links to all matches and you can check on a daily basis to catch the action.

Group A

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Ukraine	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	3
Romania	2	1	0	1	6	2	+4	3
Belgium	1	0	0	1	1	6	−5	0

28 January 2014 21:00

Belgium	1 – 6	Romania
Rahou 23′	Report	Răducu 3′ Matei 14′ Lupu 22′ Șotărcă 32′ Iancu 35′ Salhi 39′ (o.g.)

Lotto Arena, Antwerp Referee: Alessandro Malfer (Italy)

30 January 2014 18:30

Romania	0 – 1	Ukraine
	Report	Sorokin 17′

Lotto Arena, Antwerp Referee: Ondřej Černý (Czech Republic)

1 February 2014 20:45

Ukraine	v	Belgium
	Report

Lotto Arena, Antwerp

Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Russia	1	1	0	0	7	1	+6	3
Portugal	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	3
Netherlands	2	0	0	2	1	12	−11	0

28 January 2014 18:30

Russia	7 – 1	Netherlands
Cirilo 4′, 12′ Lyskov 10′ Eder Lima 15′, 35′ Sergeev 21′ Robinho 23′	Report	Attaibi 28′

Lotto Arena, Antwerp Referee: Fernando Gutiérrez Lumbreras (Spain)

30 January 2014 20:45

Netherlands	0 – 5	Portugal
	Report	João Matos 6′ Joel Queirós 13′ Cardinal 36′ Bruno Coelho 38′, 39′

Lotto Arena, Antwerp Referee: Saša Tomić (Croatia)

1 February 2014 18:30

Portugal	v	Russia
	Report

Lotto Arena, Antwerp

Group C

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Slovenia	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1	3
Azerbaijan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Italy	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	0

29 January 2014 20:45

Italy	2 – 3	Slovenia
Fortino 24′ Saad 40′	Report	Vrhovec 11′ Čujec 26′ Osredkar 39′

Lotto Arena, Antwerp Referee: Oleg Ivanov (Ukraine)

31 January 2014 20:45

Slovenia	v	Azerbaijan
	Report

Lotto Arena, Antwerp Referee: Eduardo Fernandes Coelho (Portugal)

2 February 2014 18:30

Azerbaijan	v	Italy
	Report

Lotto Arena, Antwerp

Group D

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Croatia	1	0	1	0	3	3	0	1
Spain	1	0	1	0	3	3	0	1
Czech Republic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

29 January 2014 18:30

Spain	3 – 3	Croatia
Aicardo 16′ Lin 27′, 28′	Report	Babić 10′ Jelovčić 18′ Capar 38′

Lotto Arena, Antwerp Referee: Pascal Lemal (Belgium)

31 January 2014 18:30

Croatia	v	Czech Republic
	Report

Lotto Arena, Antwerp Referee: Ivan Shabanov (Russia)

2 February 2014 20:45

Czech Republic	v	Spain
	Report

Lotto Arena, Antwerp

Knockout stage

Bracket

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Third place match

Final

Sportpaleis, Antwerp