UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 Matchday 3 Thursday highlights, round-up: Slovenia 2-3 Belarus, Spain 10-3 Belgium, Portugal 3-2 Poland, Italy 2-2 Hungary

Italy, Spain and Belgium completed the UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 quarter-final line-up as Groups C and D ended in dramatic style in Ljubljana.

In Group C, Spain wrapped up first place with a record-breaking 10-3 defeat of Belgium, who nevertheless earned a first knockout tie in 30 years as co-hosts Slovenia lost 3-2 to Belarus, both finishing below the Red Devils on three-way head-to-head goal difference.

Then in Group D Italy twice equalised in a 2-2 draw with Hungary to pip their opponents to second place on goal difference and set up a tie with Spain. Having already clinched first place and a meeting with Belgium, holders Portugal defeated Poland 3-2 to match Spain's nine-point tally.

Group C: Spain 10-3 Belgium 

Spain, who swapped back Didac Plana in goal for Chemi, only needed to avoid a heavy defeat at Tivoli Arena to confirm progress and were on top from the off, Adrián Rivera scoring twice in the first six minutes. Gréllo pulled one back, increasing his own record as the oldest-ever scorer in the competition at 40 years 209 days, but within 32 seconds of that goal, José Raya and Pablo Ramirez had struck for Spain to put them even more firmly in control.

Pablo Ramirez made it 5-1 with a strong finish in the first minute of the second half, and Cecilio Morales then pounced for a sixth. Adolfo caught out Dries Vrancken with an angled shot and seconds later Mellado increased the tally before Cecilio and Raya both scored in the 35th minute to get Spain to ten.

Ilias Bachar, son of Belgium coach Karim, responded and Omar Rahou increased his finals-leading goal tally to six with a subtle finish. But the real celebrations for the Red Devils were after watching the final minutes of the later-running Slovenia-Belarus game, the result confirming Belgium in the knockout phase for the first time since the inaugural edition of 1996 – where they also progressed behind Spain.

Player of the Match: Pablo Ramirez (Spain)

Key stat: Spain are the first team to get ten goals in a Futsal EURO finals match and equalled the record of 16 overall in group. Rahou equalled the record of six goals in a group stage, last achieved in 2003.

Jesús Velasco, Spain coach: "We're doing well, with no physical issues, and the players are very eager. You can see it – even with a big lead, they still want to keep playing, keep pushing. We're in a very good mindset heading into the quarter-finals."

Karim Bachar, Belgium coach: "We knew that every goal we scored or conceded in our first two games could be important, because playing Spain would be very difficult. We knew we would have to rely on Belarus to win. I'm a very proud coach; as amateurs, we have reached the last eight.

"The level was too high for us against Spain and we know the level will be the same against Portugal, but we are here. First of all, we were very proud to have qualified. We then won a game, scored goals and played not to avoid defeat, but to win. Now we pass to the next round – it's crazy, and I'm very proud."

Pablo Ramirez, Player of the Match: "It's my first international competition and I'm very happy with the team's result. Hopefully this continues – we're doing an incredible job with a very clear objective. We've made it through the group; we have to keep moving forward.

"It was a very hard-fought match with my team-mates. That's reflected in the result. We played an incredible game and we're very clear about [our approach]."

Group C: Slovenia 2-3 Belarus 

Slovenia knew they could not afford defeat at Arena Stožice but a point would be enough as long as Belgium did not defeat Spain. The co-hosts were ahead after just nine seconds as Teo Turk chipped the ball down the right for Matej Fideršek to control and fire across goal, allowing Jeremy Bukovec to nudge it over the line. Artem Yakubov hit the post for Belarus – who needed to win by at least seven goals – and shortly afterwards Sergei Krykun did equalise with a powerful finish.

Belarus went ahead early in the second half through Artem Kozel's accurate shot, but Slovenia responded within three minutes as Turk played a one-two with Bukovec, who equalised. However, with just over 11 minutes left Kozel restored the Belarus lead after Dmitri Shvedko intercepted a pass to set him up. Slovenia were unable to equalise, ending their hopes of matching their previous run as hosts to the last eight in 2018 as Belarus also bowed out with their first-ever finals win.

Player of the Match: Dmitri Shvedko (Belarus)

Key stat: Bukovec's goal was only one second slower than the fastest-ever Futsal EURO goal by Azerbaijan's Felipe against Serbia in 2012.

Tomislav Horvat, Slovenia coach: "Belarus are a very good team. We played very well for the first three minutes and then, I don't know, some players could not play in this very hard moment. For some, it was too much pressure."

Aleksandr Chernik, Belarus coach: "We quickly understood it would be very hard to score the eight goals we needed to qualify, but we tried to do it. Later on, we saw that it wouldn't be possible at all, and then we decided that it was really important to secure our first win ever in the final tournament.

"Everybody in my team was really disappointed after losing our first match, but the players showed just how strong they are mentally. This is very important for us and, I hope, also for the future of futsal in Belarus."

Jeremy Bukovec, Slovenia player: "It's very difficult – we were one goal away from the quarter-finals. But when you concede three goals like that, it's very difficult to win – especially against Belarus, who are a very good team.

"[The Slovenia fans were] amazing. We can only thank for them the support. We say sorry that we could not give them the quarter-finals."

Artem Kozel, Belarus player: "We are glad we won but we know we won't go forward to the quarter-finals and we are upset about that fact. We wanted to show our fans who were here that we could win and play well.

"This is our first victory [at the finals] and maybe it can help children in Belarus to see the game and start to play futsal – to grow [the sport and develop] more players."

Group D: Italy 2-2 Hungary 

Hungary needed victory at Tivoli Arena to pip two-time champions Italy to the quarter-finals and went ahead in the eighth minute as Balázs Rutai, on his 50th international appearance, applied a thumping finish to Dávid Vatamaniuc-Bartha's corner. Julio De Oliveira, Italy's hat-trick scorer against Poland on Monday, levelled when he forced in Francesco Liberti's shot.

With just under seven minutes left, and against the general run of play, Hungary has a penalty when Máté Suscák was brought down and Rutai converted with aplomb. But 71 seconds later Italy were level again as Fabricio Calderolli advanced and, after his initial shot was saved by Marcell Alasztics winning his 100th cap), the Azzurri player swivelled to turn the rebound in from a tight angle.

Player of the Match: Alex Merlim (Italy)

Key stat: Italy are into the knockout phase for the first time since 2016 (before that they had never failed to get past the group stage).

Salvatore Samperi, Italy coach: “It was a very difficult match and I congratulate our opponents, who did a fantastic job. We knew we had to win and we performed very well.

"Now we will rest and regroup, as we have very tough opponents in Spain. We will try to eliminate them.”

Sergio Mullor, Hungary coach: "What can we say now? Having played well against Poland and Italy, I can only say congratulations to my players and staff. We did all we could on the pitch but, unfortunately, it was not enough to be in the next round.

"Hungary and our federation must be very proud of our work and we will try to come back in four years' time. They are brave players who were ready to compete for their country."

Alex Merlim, Player of the Match: "We are a team with many players making their European Championship debuts. It wasn't easy to achieve this result, but we did it: we played as a team right to the end.

"We will face Spain, who are one of the best teams in the world and, along with Portugal, the strongest team in Europe. It will be a difficult match, but a good one. Now we will focus on recovering our energy."

Marcell Alasztics, Hungary goalkeeper: "It was the game we wanted to play – a close game until the end. We wanted to play futsal and we enjoyed the whole game and tournament.

"It is the end for us but we made history for Hungary in futsal [with a first-ever EURO finals win], so it was a pleasure to play here. The most important thing today was to compete until the end and we did it. Of course I am sad, but I am also happy because it was our first tournament for ten years and we put everything on the pitch."

Group D: Portugal 3-2 Poland 

Portugal, already confirmed as group winners before kick-off at Arena Stožice, started with Edu in goal and led in the sixth minute through Tomás Paçó after he combined with Pauleta on the counter. Sebastian Leszczak equalised with a free-kick for Poland, already eliminated.

Although André Coelho made it 2-1 with a ferocious first-time shot, Mikołaj Zastawnik levelled before the break thanks to a deflected volley and it seemed that Poland would bow out with an impressive point. But in the 39th minute Rúben Góis finished at the far post after Pauleta tricked his way down the right wing and crossed.

Player of the Match: Michał Kałuża (Poland)

Key stat: Portugal's record Futsal EURO winning runs now stand at 14 games (finals only) and 18 (including qualifying).

Jorge Braz, Portugal coach: "Poland are one of the most aggressive teams in defending and pressing and battling one-on-one defensively. You have to be very intense when you attack and we're used to that, but it didn't happen a lot in the first half, so things weren't going well.

"We improved in the second half just by correcting two or three things, calming down and doing what we're good at. We had many chances; we started playing and things started happening, so I was confident a goal could appear. It was deserved for the improvement, but I have to congratulate Poland."

Afonso Jesus, Portugal player: "It was difficult. Poland are very strong. We played very well. Good defending was very important. It was a very good test; now we know the level we need to win games."

Błażej Korczyński, Poland coach: "I shouldn't have a smile, because we saw today that we can play better than we did in the first two games. Maybe I should be angry about the moments when we didn't play like today.

"We played very well today and I wish Portugal all the best but I didn't really have a smile after this game. I am sad before I told the players before the tournament that we had to start well and focus. I saw today that they were focused, but we lost. I know [we] can beat almost anyone, so I am proud of my team."

Michał Kubik, Poland player: "We played well; we wanted to compete and score goals and we lost only 3-2. We showed that we are a different team than we were in the first two games and that we can compete.

"We were weak, but today we showed that Poland are a stronger team. We lost the tournament in the first two games and we are frustrated about that."