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Defending champions made to work

Group 10: Holders Spain are through to the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship play-offs.

Defending champions Spain are through to the play-offs of the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship.

Talented squad
The Spanish topped Group 10 but it was a hard-fought mini-tournament in Riga against Slovakia and hosts Latvia. However, Javier Lozano's men ultimately had too much talent and are still one of the teams to watch.

Quick start
The Spanish got proceedings under way against the Latvians, and had a dream start thanks to Daniel's first-minute strike. The No14 is one of the best players in the world and it was his second goal in the 33rd minute that made sure of a 3-1 victory. Aleksandrs Slepovs had put the Latvians back in the contest a minute before Daniel's decisive goal.

Kike goal
Spain then wrapped up the group with a 5-2 victory against the Slovakians. Javi Rodríguez led the way with an excellent first-half double although Peter Jalakša's eleventh-minute goal meant Slovakia were still in the contest at half-time. Voitech Varady then drew the Slovakians level in the 25th minute but Kike restored the Spanish advantage two minutes later and the holders never looked back.

Cambal dismissed
The result meant the final game was academic but it was still an intriguing contest between Latvia and Slovakia that finished all-square. Mihails Lisjakovs made the home fans happy with a goal in the 13th minute but Radoslav Krajcik restored parity four minutes after the interval. Slovakia would have settled for a point when Martin Cambal was dismissed in the 26th minute but the Latvians thought they had won it when Slepovs scored three minutes from the end. However, in the final minute, Varady found an equaliser and it finished 2-2.