Spain have edged 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 time.

In a game of equal chances, Russia opened the score courtesy of Pula’s perfectly sent netter six minutes from time. They kept the advantage almost until the end of the second half, even playing shorthanded after another Brazilian-naturalized-Russian, Cirilo, was sent off of for two yellow cards. The second one, seemingly unintentional, left many questions among the Russian players and fans though.

However, Spain’s assault did bring results with 33 seconds of the playing time remaining. Sergio Lozano broke the hearts of Russian fans by sending a distance shot into the net after a sneaky deflection.

The battle of nerves continued in 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 right into the empty Russian goal.

“The final, between the two strongest teams in Europe, was very interesting,” team Russia head coach Sergey Skorovich admitted after the final whistle. “Spain are the best team in Europe, they have the spirit of winners, but today we gave a great performance and were very close to beating them. I'm satisfied with the team. We were close to leveling [in extra time] because we used the flying goalkeeper. Indeed, we had some chances, such as when we hit the post.”

“I thanked all of the players. They played with their hearts and showed that Russia are equal to Spain. They did their best. Time is the best healer and such defeats make a team stronger,” Skorovich added.

Consequently, Spain have claimed their sixth Futsal European title. 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.