Portugal wants the ‘bis’, with Spain, Russia and Kazakhstan on the lookout – Sports
The ‘quinas’ team arrives motivated by the unprecedented conquest of the World Cup, in 2021, in Lithuania, just before the three editions of Euro2022, which, from this edition, is disputed every four years and with 16 months, in a competition that, at least in the beginning, it does not have an audience, due to the pandemic situation.
Luck dictated that the title holders stayed in Group A, alongside the hosts of the Netherlands, Ukraine and Serbia, in which they are the main favorites to overtake him in the lead, like the chronic candidates for the group in the rest.
The ‘good guys’, as the Portuguese team was nicknamed at the Slovenian European Championship in 2018, marked the beginning of a new ‘era’ in Portuguese futsal, after, in 2010, Portugal failed to win, losing in the final with to Spain (4-2), in Hungary.
The Spaniards have a unique curriculum in the sport, having won seven out of 11 European Championships already held — 1996, 2001, 2005 having, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2016 — and losing the finals of the 1999 countries (Russia) and 2018 (Portugal).
In just two editions, none of the finalists was Spain, curiously in Italy’s two conquests – in 2003, against Ukraine, and in 2014, against Russia -, which is eager to return to the finals discussion, having been a few ‘holes’ below in recent years.
Spain, heads the ‘ranking’ in the selections, figures in the Group, with Azerbaij and the stars Bosnia-Her D world grouping, allowing themselves to prove the world grouping, allowing themselves with Portugal ‘half ‘half’ in the lead and leadership of the respective groups.
In Group B, Kazakhstan is looking for its opportunity to inscribe its name among the winners of the competition, after third place in 2016 and fourth in 2018, to which it added place in the fourth last World Cup, failing to reach the finals.
Cazas as rivals Italy, Slovenia and debutant Finland, in the ‘poule’ whose second number will face the winner of the Portugal group, in the quarter finals.
In Group C, Russia has the favoritism, against Croatia, Poland and Slovakia, which also makes its debut in the final stages, with the Russians being, along with Spain and Italy, as teams present in all stages the final stages of Europeans.
Portugal will also be there.
The futsal Euro2022 will be played between Wednesday and February 6, in the Dutch cities of Amsterdam and Groningen, with the first two classified qualifying for the knockout stage, to be played exclusively in the capital of the Netherlands.
The group stage lasts until 29 January, quarter-finals between 31 January, 01 February, final-finals on 4 February, until the last day the final will be saved and for the mid-January game and for the mid-January of the third and fourth places in the race.
DYRP // JP
Lusa/End