Courtesy: UEFA.com


Ukraine and Portugal show mutual respect

The only two nations to have played in the UEFA Futsal EURO final without ever winning the title, Ukraine and Portugal begin the quarter-finals at Antwerp's Sportpaleis on Monday.

Sunday 2 February 2014

by Paul Saffer, Mikhail Malkin & Nuno Tavares from Antwerp

The only two sides to have played in the UEFA Futsal EURO final without ever winning the title, Ukraine and Portugal meet in the last eight as they open the 2014 knockout phase at Antwerp's Sportpaleis on Monday.

Second in 2010, Portugal were pipped to first place in Group B when they drew 4-4 with Russia on Saturday, having earlier beaten the Netherlands 5-0. Ukraine overcame Romania 1-0 and drew 0-0 with hosts Belgium to top Group A, the first team to come through a UEFA Futsal EURO section without conceding, as well as equalling the lowest number of goals scored.

Ukraine coach Yevhen Ryvkin, who will be missing the man that set up their winner against Romania, the suspended Oleksandr Sorokin, told UEFA.com: "Portugal are a very strong team. If we lose we go home, but let's see what we will be capable of against them on Monday. You just can't play futsal or football if you don't have a bit of luck. We had this in the group stage, but I won't rely just on good luck."

Jorge Braz, whose two final tournaments in charge of Portugal have resulted in last-eight defeats by Italy at UEFA Futsal EURO 2012 and the subsequent FIFA Futsal World Cup, said: "We know Ukraine very well. Physically they are very strong and they have players who are technically gifted.

"They always play a kind of unpredictable futsal because they are able make use of their technical ability combined with a lot of muscle power. They have been improving their game in recent years when it comes to organisation."

Gonçalo, whose team-mate Joel Queirós may again be out with a foot injury, added: "We are showing our quality and that we are ready for any opponent. We don't fear anyone and we just need to worry about playing the kind of futsal we are used to. Every player is playing with the same priority in their mind: that the team comes first. If we stick together we can continue on this path."

Kyrylo Tsypun replaced Yevgen Ivanyak in the Ukrainian goal for the Belgium game and emulated his colleague by keeping a clean sheet. But it is at the other end where they are likely to need extra inspiration if they are to match the 7-4 defeat of Portugal that ultimately took them past the 2003 group stage in these nations' only previous finals meeting.

"When are we going to start scoring goals?" Tsypun said. "It's a secret! Let everybody think that we never score, but finally we will score when it will be most needed."






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com