Seven different goalscorers helped Russia cruise to a 7-1 victory over Cuba and finish as Group B winners at the FIFA Futsal Colombia 2016, while Cuba were eliminated with their third consecutive loss.
Russia were the overwhelming favourites in Cali and in prime position to finish as Group B winners going into the match, while Cuba were coming off of a 8-5 loss to Thailand. Cuba coach Clemente Reinoso bemoaned his side's lack of focus during the end of that defeat, but the Cubans looked like they had received his message as they kept the Russians from scoring for a large portion of the opening half.
However, Cuba goalkeeper Nelson Johnston and his defence eventually broke when Danil Davydov scored the opening goal for Russia for the third consecutive match. Davydov's tap in was the beginning of a flood of goals for the Russians towards the end of the first half as Ivan Chishkala, Artem Niiazov and Vladislav Shayakhmetov all got on the scoresheet.
Russia's dominance carried into the second half, however they struggled to build on their lead from the off. Cuba then had a glimmer of hope midway through the half when Daniel Hernandez scored with a precise finish at the end of a counter attack. Russia's clinical edge showed through in the end though as they scored three more before the final whistle.
Russia finish the group stage with three consecutive wins, just as they did at Thailand 2012. That time out they did not concede a single goal until the quarter-finals, where they fell 3-2 to Spain. However at Colombia 2016, they have conceded in every match so Sergey Skorovich's men know they still have a long way to go in order to build on that performance. For the Cubans, their Colombia 2016 campaign ends in the group stage where it has for them in all five of their Futsal World Cup appearances.
