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Spain defeated Croatia who finished in second place at the U19 UEFA Futsal Championship in the final in Latvia on Saturday
Spain had already beaten Croatia in the group phases, were on a 14-match unbeaten run and showed their class in the final in front of over 2,000 fans, winning 6-1 and made Futsal history. This tournament has shown the bright future of Futsal, an incredible display of the pure talent this sport has and the entertainment it provides.
The Spanish took the lead in the 6th minute when Ricardo Mayor turned in a corner. Croatia equalized when Mateo Mužar powered in a free-kick in the 13th minute. Rodríguez then put Spain back in front a minute later.
Spain extended their lead just 90 seconds before the break via Cristian Molina and grabbed one more before halftime when Antonio Pérez scored from the second penalty mark. Spain would run away with the match in the second half, scoring two more goals to complete a deserved victory.
Croatia reached the final with wins against the Netherlands, and Ukraine in the group stages, before dramatically beating Portugal in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-final.
“Nobody expected before the tournament that Croatia would get here, it was a big surprise for us. Spain are probably the best team in the world,” Croatia coach, Marinko Mavrović, said before the match.
Croatia’s Fran Vukelić scored eight goals in the competition including qualifying, equal top with Danil Karpyuk of Russia.
Congratulations to UEFA for giving these young talents the platform to shine!!
Source of the pictures: UEFA Futsal Twitter
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