Women's Futsal EURO final highlights, report: Spain pip Portugal on penalties

Spain repeated their success from the first UEFA Women's Futsal EURO but only after a thrilling comeback against hosts Portugal.

The first final in Gondomar ended 4-0 to Spain, but this time Portugal built a two-goal lead in the first half at the same venue. Ale de Paz turned the game with two superb strikes and María Sanz then seemed to have won it for Spain in extra time. Pisko had other ideas – only for two Silvia Aguete saves in the shoot-out to ensure her team's repeat success.

Match in brief: Holders fight back

Spain were 3-0 up ten minutes into the 2019 final but that was never on the cards today; these teams had met 11 times since that encounter and Portugal had claimed five wins to their neighbours' three. The first big chance came in the eighth minute as Ana Azevedo intercepted a Spain pass in front of goal but was denied by Silvia at point-blank range.

Soon after, Silvia again frustrated Azevedo. Unfazed, the Portugal captain then broke the deadlock, finishing off a sweeping move following a pass by Fifó to the delight of the sell-out crowd. Spain looked to respond with María played clear, but Ana Catarina saved well.

As in 2019, Multiusos de Gondomar was sold out for the finalUEFA via Getty Images

It was 2-0 as a kick-in was played to Janice Silva, who spun and cut back for Pisko to strike. Just before the break, however, Ale de Paz pounced on a loose ball and sent in a ferocious shot from distance to halve Spain's deficit.

The holders pushed hard in the second half, though Portugal remained dangerous on the break and both Azevedo and Inês Fernandes hit the woodwork, as did Mayte at the other end. Noelia had a shot tipped over the bar by Ana Catarina, but the Portugal keeper was beaten six minutes from time as Ale de Paz produced another brilliant finish, this one a volley.

María Sanz gave Spain the lead in extra timeUEFA via Getty Images

Portugal had the better chances early in extra time, Azevedo hitting the bar after being set up by Janice and Silvia saving a Pisko ten-metre penalty. But Spain went ahead, María turning in Ana Luján's corner. Silvia denied Carla Vanessa from the ten-metre spot and another penalty was sent wide by Pisko, who then donned the flying goalkeeper's top and smashed in a Janice pass to force penalties.

And so it was left to Silvia to again show her prowess, the keeper denying both Player of the Tournament Azevedo and Ana Pires before teenager Irene Córdoba converted the winning kick.

Reaction 

Silvia Aguete, Spain goalkeeper: "It's simply amazing to be here again and to be able to lift the trophy three years after the first one. I don't feel I'm a hero because all the players gave their best and deserve to experience this moment.

"You never know what is going to happen when a match is decided in a penalty shoot-out and I just tried to remain calm and focused. It's really important for the sport to have these kinds of matches with this atmosphere. Everybody needs to keep working so we can improve women's futsal even more."

Ale de Paz, Spain goalscorer: "It was an amazing match by both teams and I think you couldn't ask for a better or more dramatic final. It's amazing to be holding this trophy and it's hard to describe what it means. I'm very happy to have scored two goals but even more because that helped my team to achieve their final objective."

Clàudia Pons, Spain coach: "We knew there were players we'd be missing because of injury and other things, but the players that came were very helpful. We have a very bright future. We have a great chance of even more trophies."

Inês Fernandes, Portugal player: "It's hard, it's really hard. I cannot find the words to express what we are all feeling right now. I think we played brilliantly and we had enough chances to even avoid playing extra time. But this is futsal. They were more efficient and we were facing the reigning champions and a very strong team."

Key stats

• Ale de Paz and Pisko, thanks to their doubles, ended as finals joint top scorers with three apiece.
• Pisko also matched the tallies of Irene Córdoba (Spain) and Nikola Rybanská (Slovakia), with seven goals for the campaign including qualifying.
• Silvia Aguete, back-up goalkeeper Marta Balvuena, Peque, Noelia, Luci, Mayte, Amelia Romeo, Irene Samper and Ana Luján were also in the Spain squad that won the 2019 title.
• The teams were not the only ones returning from the 2019 final: Chiara Perona was also the first referee last time. She likewise officiated at the men's UEFA Futsal EURO 2022, and was third referee in the final won by Portugal.

Third place

Earlier at Multiusos de Gondomar, Ukraine beat finals debutants Hungary 2-1 to claim bronze, an improvement of one place from 2019. Just as in the third-place play-off three years ago, Yuliya Tytova and Snezhana Volovenko scored for Ukraine, before Hungary managed a late Viktória Horváth consolation.