The Portuguese futsal team seeks this Monday to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup and, at least, equal the fourth place in the last edition, facing Spain, in the re-edition of the final of the last European, conquered by the Portuguese.
After suffering to beat Serbia in the round of 16, by 4-3, in extra time, Portugal will have an arduous mission to overcome their Spanish counterpart, who have already won the Futsal World Cup twice, in 2000 (Guatemala) and 2004 (Chinese Taipei).
O history of clashes between the two selections is chosen favorable to Spanish training, who, in 29 matches, won 23, drew four and conceded only two wins to the ‘quinas’ team, which, however, has one of the ‘tastiest’ victories, in the 2018 European Championship playoff, held in Slovenia, by 3-2, after extra time.
The differences have been blurred in recent years, considering the coach Jorge Braz, in the preview of the meeting, and, therefore, Portugal leaves with the ambition to once again go against history and beat the ‘neighbor country’, with the final incorporates date of September 2019, in two gains won by Spain (1-0 and 2-1).
Portugal concluded Group C in the lead, with seven points, with triumphs against Thailand (4-1) and the Solomon Islands (7-0) and a draw with Morocco (3-3), while Spain scored the full in Group E , defeating Paraguay (4-0), Japan (4-2) and Angola (4-1), having overtaken the Czech Republic in the round of 16 of the tournament, by 5-2.
The Iberian duel in the quarter-finals of the Futsal World Cup is scheduled for 17:30 (15:30 in Lisbon), at the Vilnius Arena, with refereeing by Mohamed Hassan (Egypt) and Khalid Hnich (Morocco). The winner will face Iran or Kazakhstan in the semi-finals.