Russian futsal and football mourns Miklyaev

Viacheslav Miklyaev, the international secretary of the Football Union of Russia (RFS) and one of the key figures in making his country a leading nation in world futsal, died on Tuesday aged 69.

Three decades' service
'Slava', as he was affectionately known, had worked in the international department for three decades, involved in both futsal and in youth football competitions. An RFS statement read: "Viacheslav Miklyaev devoted most of his life to football service, working with the international department of the Football Union of Russia for almost 30 years, having witnessed a lot of significant landmarks in Russian football development and making his valuable contribution to it. Our dear colleague and beloved friend was to celebrate his 70th birthday in August."

UEFA tribute
UEFA futsal competition manager Laurent Morel said: "We are obviously very saddened by this loss, after so many years of co-operation. More than a futsal colleague, we have lost a friend, who dedicated his life to football and futsal. We will all miss him a lot."

Debrecen date for Hungary finals draw

The UEFA European Futsal Championship final draw will be held at 16.00CET on 24 September at the Kölcsey Convention Centre, Debrecen after the 12-team lineup was decided at the weekend.

Finalists
Debrecen's Főnix Arena is one of two venues for the tournament in Hungary from 19 to 30 January 2010 along with the Papp László Sportaréna in Budapest, with 12 teams to take part in an increase from the previous eight. The finalists will be drawn into four groups of three teams, with one side to come from each of three seeding tiers. The top tier consists of hosts Hungary, holders Spain and former winners Italy and Russia, while 2007 qualifiers Ukraine, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Serbia are in the second grouping and the remaining pot will consist of Slovenia, Belgium and debutants Belarus and Azerbaijan.

Dates
After the group stage between 19 and 24 January, with a game each day in both venues, the top two teams in each pool will progress to the quarter-finals on 25 and 26 January. The semi-finals will be played on 28 January at the Főnix Arena with the final and third-place play-off two days later at the same venue.

High hopes
UEFA futsal competition manager Laurent Morel said: "We have noticed much more competitive and close matches during this qualifying phase, with tight scores, last-gasp decisions and amazing emotions and performances, which were not that frequent in the previous editions. Experience in the decisive moments probably made the difference. We can therefore have high expectations for the final tournament in Hungary, and will aim high to deliver the best conditions to the teams for the best Futsal Championship ever."

Happy coaches thrilled to reach Hungary

UEFA European Futsal Championship qualifying finished on Sunday with holders Spain, former winners Italy and Russia, Ukraine, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Belgium, Slovenia and first-time finalists Belarus and Azerbaijan earning berths alongside hosts Hungary in Budapest and Debrecen from 19-30 January, in a showpiece expanded from eight to 12 nations. uefa.com rounds up the reaction from the successful teams; full details of the final set of games can be seen by clicking here.

Alesio, Azerbaijan coach
Our first game against Portugal was very close, but then we relaxed and won against Poland by a small margin. Against Finland we were much better and deserved an easy win.

Valeri Dosko, Belarus coach
Belarussian futsal has been moving towards this success for 15 years. We're all extremely happy, but I think we showed only 50 to 60 per cent of our potential in the Kaunas mini-tournament. We deserved to reach the finals considering our accumulated performances over the years. We have finished as group runners-up many times. It's good that our veterans Vladimir Levus, Aleksandr Savintsev and Sergei Kuznetsov will take part in the European Championship. I hope the Belarus Football Federation will do everything to create the best possible conditions for the build-up process.

Benny Meurs, Belgium coach
We knew we would be able to qualify, although it never is certain it will work out that way. We played three beautiful matches, in different ways. Against Greece and [F.Y.R.] Macedonia we were able to play our game, scoring ten goals with only one conceded, and when you then finally beat a team like Serbia 4-3, you really deserve qualification. Qualification is hugely important for Belgian futsal development, and also for regular football, as I think futsal can be an excellent development programme for football. We played for 2,500 spectators here, a lot of people had not seen the sport before, and were excited, and said they would come again. So this result is certainly important for the development of the sport.

Tomáš Neumann, Czech Republic coach
I must appreciate the fighting spirit, which made it possible for us to come from behind in the dying moments [to beat Croatia 4-3 in the decider]. The final game against Croatia was excellent. We were better side in the first half, the visitors outplayed us in the second. We had problems with stamina, it's our weak point. We scored the winner from a perfectly-prepared dead-ball situation, it's very difficult to manage it in those nervous circumstances.

Roberto Menichelli, Italy caretaker coach
We played efficiently, finishing the group with 19 goals scored and only one conceded; a group that also rewarded Belarus as one of the four best runners-up. Now we'll try to arrange training camps and friendlies in order to test other players and to continue a job that is obviously aimed, in the short term, at the UEFA European Futsal Championship in Hungary. The young debutants did well and the goals scored against Lithuania will give these boys further confidence in their own ability. The moment of renewal coincided with peak performances and creates a lot of hope for the future.

Orlando Duarte, Portugal coach
[In beating Poland 8-1 to win their group] we were much closer to our real value and when that happens there are very few teams who can stop us. We don't like to finish second and we had to win this group especially because we played at home. It's still too early to assess our chances at the finals and it's really a pity that the team will only get together again in September.

Sergey Skorovich, Russia coach
I'm pleased with our qualifying round results. There is certain dissatisfaction with our display, but all in all we played soundly and solidly. Don't get fooled by results – we outplayed each opponent. I can say that I have long-term plans with this team.

Predrag Rajić, Serbia player
We had luck [in qualifying as one of the four best runners-up after losing 4-3 to Belgium]. Now, we were really lucky losers. But, I can say that we deserve success. In last qualifying round for the [2008 FIFA Futsal] World Cup we did not have enough luck, now life returns it. We played well, but we lost concentration in the decisive game against Belgium. [The finals] will be great days for Serbian futsal. It is very important when your team is at the highest level, this is a chance for new promotion. In the last one, we finished fifth and we will prepare ourselves for a new, great edition.

Andrej Dobovičnik, Slovenia coach
It is very difficult to find words to describe this moment. Of course, we are all very happy after this big success, which is well deserved. We are looking forward to travelling to Hungary. The players gave their maximum [in the decisive 7-1 win against Montenegro]. They managed to put pressure on our opponents. It would not have been a surprise if we had scored five more goals. Congratulations to the squad.

José Venancio López, Spain coach
We're back to our best level. We were always looking to score right up until the last second because for us it's not just important to win, we want to play the best we can. The team worked hard and sacrificed a lot since the beginning of qualification [preparation] two weeks ago. This is an important step for us.

Gennadiy Lysenchuk, Ukraine coach
Despite a very tense game against Romania we got the result we needed and qualified for the finals. As we expected it was no easy ride. In each match we had to play to our maximum, but luckily the lads were ready for it. Our team played with full concentration, because a place in the final round was at stake. I have no complaints about the players. On the contrary, our young team has time to improve. We'll prepare for the future challenges.

Spain lead list of futsal finalists

The lineup for the 2010 UEFA European Futsal Championship is complete after a thrilling conclusion to qualifying.

Qualified dozen
Italy and Russia had already booked their places alongside hosts Hungary in Budapest and Debrecen from 19-30 January, and holders Spain joined them today along with fellow group winners Ukraine, Portugal, Belgium and the Czech Republic, who needed two last-minute goals to pip Croatia 3-2 in Ostrava. The four best-runners up also qualified and Azerbaijan and Belarus will both play in their first futsal final tournament via that method along with Slovenia and Serbia, who finished a goal ahead of Slovakia and Croatia. uefa.com round up the final day action.

Group 1
Romania, who made their finals debut in Porto two years ago, needed a win against leaders Ukraine in Tirgu Mures to qualify. However, two-time runners-up Ukraine secured a 2-2 draw and Romania's five-point total proved insufficient as they departed the competition unbeaten. The Netherlands finished third as, after two defeats by Romania and Ukraine, they beat Andorra 7-1.

Group 2
Spain defeated Slovakia 4-0 on home territory in Badajoz and will go for a third consecutive title in Hungary. Fernandao struck on nine minutes and he did so again just before the break, seconds after Kike had made it 2-0. Dani Salgado completed the scoring. Slovakia finished with a total of six points but their goal difference as runners-up was inferior to Serbia, Belarus and Slovenia, denying them a finals berth. Kazakhstan pipped Moldova to third place on goal difference following a 1-1 draw. Moldova's Vladimir Japalau equalised two minutes from time.

Group 3
The Czech Republic had to defeat Croatia in Ostrava to reach their seventh straight major futsal final tournament, and duly did so though it was not as comfortable as their 5-1 win in similar circumstances against the same opposition in Zagreb two years ago. Zdeněk Sláma gave the Czech Republic an early lead but Matija Dulvat equalised nine minutes into the second half. As the home side pushed for a winner, Tihomir Novak rolled the ball into an empty net with one minute remaining but in the dying seconds Czech captain Martín Dlouhý struck twice, either side of Novak being sent off for a foul on Marek Kopecký. Croatia then had a double heartbreak with their goal difference not quite enough to earn one of the best runners-up spots. Bosnia-Herzegovina had put up a strong challenge after holding the Czech Republic in their opening game but ended fourth after losing 2-0 to Latvia, who had their best campaign in this competition.

Group 4
Italy had already won the group in Kaunas and celebrated by defeating hosts Lithuania 6-0. Vampeta Dos Santos's sixth-minute strike was added to by two before the break from Battistella and a Marco Ercolessi pair after half-time and Francesco Gigliofiorito made it six near the end. Second place was up for grabs, with Belarus only needing a draw against Georgia but knowing only a win would give them a finals chance. Belarus duly prevailed 2-0 with a goal in each half from Mikhail Papou and Aliaksandr Haiduk, but there was then a nervous two-hour wait for the second set of Matchday 3 games before Belarus were confirmed as one of the finalists.

Group 5
Belgium and Serbia met in Antwerp with each on six points and the hosts ahead on goal difference. In a close game, Belgium prevailed 4-3 to qualify for the first time since 2003, but by scoring three goals and only losing by a margin of one, Serbia ended as the fourth best runners-up and are in their second straight final tournament. Greece held on to third place with a 2-2 draw against F.Y.R. Macedonia that got both teams off the mark.

Group 6
Both Azerbaijan and Portugal knew that victories today would guarantee qualification with seven points good enough at least for a best runners-up berth in Hungary. Azerbaijan, top on goal difference, played first against Finland, who themselves had hopes of emulating Romania's feat in 2007 by qualifying for the finals having started in the preliminary round. However, Azerbaijan prevailed 5-1 to ensure a debut in a UEFA final tournament, having been given a half-time lead by Biro Jade. Thiago scored twice early in the second half and, after Ville Lindgren pulled one back, Azerbaijan goalkeeper Andrey Tveryankine struck from distance and Serjão completed the victory. Group hosts Portugal overcame Poland 8-1 to claim first place on goal difference.

Group 7
Russia were already confirmed as group winners before their 2-0 win against mini-tournament hosts France. As in Group 4, second place was the focus of interest and Slovenia defeated Montenegro 7-1, with six of their goals following half-time, which was to prove enough to take them to their first finals since 2003.