Spain defeated Russia 3-1 in the overtime of the final match of the UEFA European Futsal Championship in Croatia’s Zagreb to win the champion’s title for the fourth consecutive year.
Russia opened the score after Pula’s netter on the 34th minute of the game and kept the advantage almost until the end of the second half. But with 34 seconds of the playing time remaining Spain’s Sergio Lozano broke the hearts of Russian fans by scoring a goal and taking the teams to the overtime.
It was Lozano again to score in the extra time and with only a second left before the final whistle Spain’s captain Luis Amado cemented his team’s victory with a precise shot against the Russians.
Spain now is six-time Futsal European champion. Russia won the 1999 European Championships in Granada by beating Spain on penalties in the final after a 3-3 draw, but lost to Spain in the 1996 and 2005 finals.
At the 2010 European Championships in Hungary, Russia lost in the quarterfinal to Spain, the eventual winners, on sudden death penalties after a scoreless draw.
