UEFA Futsal EURO finals draw made
Friday, October 2, 2015
Article summary
Serbia play Slovenia and Portugal, Spain take on Hungary and Ukraine, Russia face Kazakhstan and Croatia and Italy encounter the Czech Republic and Azerbaijan in Belgrade.
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Article body
Serbia will open UEFA Futsal EURO 2016 at Belgrade Arena against Slovenia after the draw was made for the final tournament running from 2 to 13 February. Tennis star Novak Djoković appeared by video link at Belgrade City Hall to welcome the teams while former footballer Dejan Stanković was unveiled as tournament ambassador and made the draw.
The draw
Group A: Serbia (hosts), Portugal, Slovenia
Group B: Spain, Ukraine, Hungary
Group C: Russia, Croatia, Kazakhstan
Group D: Italy (holders), Czech Republic, Azerbaijan
Draw facts
• In their last finals in 2012, Serbia were in a group with Portugal and both went through ahead of Azerbaijan.
• Spain and Ukraine were also the top two in a 2012 group, while in qualifying for this tournament, the Spanish defeated Hungary 5-0.
• Kazakhstan will play their first ever finals game against Russia, who knocked out Croatia as hosts in the last four in 2012.
• Italy beat Azerbaijan 7-0 to go through from the 2014 group stage on their way to outright victory.
Competition schedule (KOs tbc)
Group stage
Tuesday 2 February: Serbia v Slovenia, Spain v Hungary
Wednesday 3 February: Russia v Kazakhstan, Italy v Azerbaijan
Thursday 4 February: Slovenia v Portugal, Hungary v Ukraine
Friday 5 February: Kazakhstan v Croatia, Azerbaijan v Czech Republic
Saturday 6 February: Portugal v Serbia, Ukraine v Spain
Sunday 7 February: Croatia v Russia, Czech Republic v Italy
Quarter-finals
Monday 8 February: Winner A v Runner-up B (QF1), Runner-up A v Winner B (QF2)
Tuesday 9 February: Winner C v Runner-up D (QF3), Runner-up C v Winner D (QF4)
Semi-finals
Thursday 11 February: QF1 v QF3, QF2 v QF4
Finals day
Saturday 13 February: Third-place play-off, Final