Those who have followed the international political news in recent weeks are aware of the escalation in the political crisis involving Russia and Ukraine. Tension between the countries – in the face of a potential Russian military invasion – has been increasing due to difficulties in resolving the conflict through diplomatic channels.
Now, the tense situation will be taken inside the courts. Russia – which will have three naturalized Brazilian players available – and Ukraine will face each other in one of the semifinals of the 2022 European Futsal Championship.
The match will take place next Friday (4), at the Ziggo Dome arena, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, at 17:00 local time (13:00 GMT).
Ukraine returns to a futsal Euro semifinal after 17 years. It is the fourth time in history that the team has reached this stage of the tournament.
The Ukrainians secured their spot last Monday (31) by snatching a 5-3 victory against favorites Kazakhstan.
“We’ll find more energy for the next game – there are things that maybe only happen once in a lifetime, so we’ll have to give it our all,” Ukraine’s Ihor Korsun said at the end of the match.
Russia, on the other hand, managed to reach the semifinals of the Euro, this Tuesday (1), by beating the former Soviet republic Georgia by 3 to 1.
According to the official list available on the Uefa page for the match, Russia will have three Brazilian naturalized Russian players: Nando, Robinho and Paulinho.
The Russians are on a record campaign, with ten consecutive accumulated victories (including qualifying games).
“We had to leave everything on the court, as Georgia played very well. It was extremely tough,” said Russian player Ivan Chishkala.
Lineup for semi-finals set #FutsalEURO 🤩
🇺🇦 🆚 🇷🇺
🇵🇹 🆚 🇪🇸Who will be in the final ❓
ALL ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT
👉 https://t.co/cl1FACUzXL pic.twitter.com/PCHONLg1zz— UEFA.com in Portuguese (@UEFAcom_pt) February 1, 2022
The futsal teams of Russia and Ukraine have already faced each other on three other occasions. There were two victories for Russia, with eight goals scored, against a Ukrainian victory, which accumulated five goals.
Whoever wins the match will face the winner of the Iberian match between Portugal and Spain.
Spain reached the semis after an easy 5-1 victory against Slovakia, this Tuesday (1).
Portugal, who are the current holders of the Euro trophy and were world champions in 2021, stamped their spot in the semi-finals in a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Finland on Monday.
“We already knew it would be a difficult game. Finland is very strong physically and plays very well”, said Portugal player Bruno Coelho.
The Portuguese are for 31 official games without knowing what it’s like to lose. The last defeat was for Argentina, in the semi-final of the 2016 World Cup.
The final of the Futsal Euro 2022 takes place next Sunday (6).
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
