Mystery men reveal their true worth

A 3-1 win against UEFA European Futsal Championship hosts Hungary has led to Azerbaijan emerging as surprise contenders for the title, with goalkeeper Andrey Tveryankin joking: "We're a mystery team for many Azerbaijanis as well!"

Confident victory
Biro Jade scored inside the first minute for Azerbaijan, and while Tamás Lódi levelled soon afterwards, Hungary could find no way past Tveryankin – who at 42 is the oldest player at the finals − with further strikes from Serjão and Alves killing off the game. Alesio's side, dominated by Brazilian-born talent, now have one foot in the quarter-finals following the Group A opener, something few might have expected given their previous record.

Title ambitions
"We're a mystery team for many Azerbaijanis as well!" the cheery Tveryankin told uefa.com, adding: "Nobody expected an easy game, of course. There are a lot of guys on our team who are talking about the semi-final or even the winning the trophy, but I say we take it step by step. We need to get out of the group first, then go on and on."

Momentum lost
With Biro Jade and Thiago pulling the strings, Alesio's charges dominated the first half, though Tveryankin admitted his side had taken their foot off the gas after going in at the interval 3-1 up, forcing him to make crucial saves on several occasions. "We played with our backs to wall, but we didn't let them do anything," he said in mitigation.

Never idle
The crop-headed custodian certainly played his part in a hard-fought victory, saying with a smile "they don't leave me with nothing to do in this team. They keep me interested so that I will keep playing for them!" He added: "The only shame is that we couldn't score on the counter and build up a bigger lead so that the ending would have been less nervy."

Early setback
Hungary coach Mihály Kozma felt that his players never quite recovered from conceding so early on, and forward Zsolt Gyurcsányi – whose free-kick set up Lódi's strike – explained: "We made a lot of mistakes especially close to the goal. We had the chances but we lacked the killer touch, and our pace was not quick enough."

Superb crowd
That being said, playing in front of a fabulous, partisan crowd at the Papp Lászlo Arena can only encourage them ahead of Saturday's must-win Group A game against the Czech Republic. "The last time we witnessed a kind of futsal atmosphere was when we were in Brazil," he said. "We've never played a game with such [a big] attendance before in Hungary."