Futsal EURO preview: Group D

Spain begin their bid for a third straight UEFA European Futsal Championship title against first-time qualifiers Belarus in the Debrecen-based Group D, which also contains a Portugal side that went close to denying their neighbours in 2007. uefa.com concludes our preview of the finals with a look at a competitive section.

SPAIN
Since winning the 1996 UEFA tournament that preceded the launch of the full championship three years later, Spain have been a dominant force in European futsal and have won the last two titles. Indeed, only in 2003 did they not reach the final. FIFA Futsal World Cup winners in 2000 and 2004, they were denied in a penalty shoot-out by hosts Brazil in the 2008 final. Spain won all 15 of their matches last year, have not lost over 40 minutes since a December 2005 friendly in Brazil, and cruised through their friendly programme with 50 goals in seven wins. José Venancio López, who took over as coach on the eve of the 2007 finals, has proved able to blend veterans Luis Amado, Javi Rodríguez and Kike with newer selections like Juanra.

Best performance: 1996, 2001, 2005, 2007 winners

Qualifying: Moldova 7-0, Kazahkstan 7-0, Slovakia 4-0 (Group 2 winners)

Key players: Luis Amado, Javi Rodríguez, Kike, Daniel

José Venancio López, coach: "It gets harder every time. Everyone thinks we're favourites, but we know Russia are at a high level and have improved a lot in recent years. I believe they're playing better, more as a collective unit. Italy are very strong; they're always very competitive."

BELARUS
Belarus ended their wait to reach a major finals with wins against Lithuania and Georgia but received probably the toughest possible draw, paired with two of the top four from 2007. On top of that, their top man Vadim Lushkovski plus the experienced Ilya Gorin and Aleksei Yuraga and talented striker Vladimir Zhdanovich have all been ruled out. Based around teamwork rather than individual flair, Belarus opted for a tough warm-up programme and losses in Italy and Brazil followed by defeats by Russia and Serbia in Belgium last month exposed the size of their task.

Best performance: first qualification

Qualifying: Lithuania 6-0, Italy 0-3, Georgia 2-0 (Group 4 runners-up)

Key players: Aleksandr Savintsev, Vladimir Levus

Valeri Dosko, coach: "If we play out of our skins, we reach the knockouts. But unfortunately we have big problems with the squad."

PORTUGAL
World Cup semi-finalists in 2000, Portugal reached the same stage in European competition for the first time as hosts in 2007, leading Spain 2-0 with five minutes remaining only for the holders to come back and win on penalties. Orlando Duarte, in charge since 2000, has kept his side performing at a high level, reaching the 2008 World Cup second group stage and losing only to Spain and Brazil last year. However, the withdrawal of the injured Ricardinho, perhaps the player of the 2007 tournament in Porto, is a blow.

Best performance: 2007 semi-finals

Qualifying: Azerbaijan 3-3, Finland 2-1, Poland 8-1 (Group 6 winners)

Key players: João Benedito, Arnaldo, Israel, Joel Queirós.

Orlando Duarte, coach: "It was one of the hardest squads I've named as there are many young talents emerging. It's a good problem for me."