Futsal European Championship: 2/5/2014.

After a thrilling Quarter-Final round, we are off to the Semis with Portugal, Italy, Russia, and Spain making it through. Portugal's one-man show of Cardinal - technically a defender - struck early in each half to put the Iberians through to the next round despite Ukraine's best efforts. The Ukrainian's Yevgen Valenko was able to bring the eastern Europeans level in the 12th minute however Cardinal added to his 2nd minute goal with one in the 22nd minute that went unanswered. An exciting match, Italy's match against Croatia ended with a similar scoreline though the eventual winners appeared slightly more in control. Sergio Romano struck in the 46th second of play to get things rolling while Croatia equalized a little over six minutes later courtesy of Franko Jelovcic. However, in the 9th minute the Italians were able to secure their second - the final for both teams - goal of the match through Fortino in the 9th minute. The 2nd half may as well not have happened. Meanwhile, Romania were slaughtered by Russia 0-6 thanks to a barrage of scoring from the likes of Robinho, Vladislav Shayakhmetov, Eder Lima, and Sergei Sergeev. Spain were similarly successful over a surprising Slovenian side with a 4-0 scoreline. Fernandao scored in the 11th minute with Rafael Usin making it 2-0 in the 17th. The second twenty minutes opened with a flurry of yellow cards, however Aicardo struck not once but twice in the dying minutes of the 2nd half - the 36th and 39th minutes - to make it 4 for the winners and set up a play date with the Russians tomorrow. As for the Semi-Final fixtures, Italy will most likely have more consistency than the Portuguese while Russia's match with Spain could go either way. If Eder Lima continues in the vein that he has been in, the eastern European powerhouse may just win the tournament. If Aicardo can convert more often and Rafa stays sharp in goal for the Spaniards, they may yet defend their title. Enjoy the games!