UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 quarter-final Sunday preview: Spain vs Italy, Portugal vs Belgium

The UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 quarter-finals continue on Sunday at Ljubljana's Arena Stožice as holders Portugal take on Belgium before Spain face fellow former champions Italy.

Portugal vs Belgium

Portugal's bid for a third straight title has gone well so far. They topped Group D by beating Italy 6-2, Hungary 5-1 and Poland 3-2 in Jorge Braz's 100th competitive game in charge, stretching their record run of consecutive finals wins to 14.

Belgium, meanwhile, are in the knockout phase for the first time since reaching the inaugural semi-finals in 1996, The key was their opening 4-0 defeat of Belarus, as although they then lost 5-4 to Slovenia and 10-3 to Spain, the Red Devils were still second in Group C.

That was because Slovenia's 3-2 loss to Belarus left Belgium above both on three-way head-to-head goal difference, the Red Devils players having a nervous few minutes watching the end of that game before starting wild celebrations. However, they now have the toughest of tasks against the holders – though their only recent meetings were two April 2022 friendlies with the teams exchanging a win apiece in Gondomar and Belgium do have current finals top scorer Omar Rahou, who equalled the group stage record of six goals.

Jorge Braz, Portugal coach: "Belgium are a very intuitive team, with players who play according to the moment. They find solutions and are often able to step outside the box. Because of the unpredictability that any game provides, they manage to solve problems competently. I greatly appreciate this type of player, but like everything else, there's a positive and a negative side.

"It's up to us to know how to exploit the negative aspects of this characteristic of Belgium. They are a team that play real futsal, that want to have the ball and like to go one-on-one. But, as I always say, our focus is on ourselves and what we want to do. Losing this game means going home, and that would be a total failure. The line to success is always very thin, but my players are aware of this and have a lot of experience at this level. We have to start at 100 percent from the first second. We just want the game to begin."

Karim Bachar, Belgium coach: "We were so proud when we qualified for this tournament, and then we managed to win our first finals match in 30 years, but now we want more. Portugal are one of the toughest opponents in the world and, alongside Spain, the main favourites to win the competition. We have nothing to lose and everything to win.

"We will play with all our heart and give it all. In futsal, you never know what's going to happen, but we are fully aware of the task we have in our hands. The match we played against Spain was important in the sense that our players now know the level we are facing. If you can compete against teams like Spain and Portugal, then you know you have reached that level."

Spain vs Italy 

Spain, like Portugal, picked up a maximum nine points in the group stage as they overcame Slovenia 4-1, Belarus 2-0 and Belgium 10-3. That was the first time a team had scored ten in a Futsal EURO finals game and their group tally of 16 goals equalled the competition record as their bid for an eighth title continues.

Twice champions Italy, unusually out in the group stage in 2018 and 2022, ended that run as after losing 6-2 to Portugal they defeated Poland 4-0 then equalised twice to hold Hungary 2-2 and pip them on goal difference.

Alex Merlin is set to equal fellow EURO 2014 winner Marco Ercolessi's record tally of 137 Italy caps but they will be missing four-goal top scorer Julio De Oliveira due to suspension as they face a team they narrowly lost to 4-3 in a November friendly. Spain also beat Italy twice in 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup qualifying and have the edge from their close to 40 meetings in the past, not least the Futsal EURO 2007 and 2004 World Cup finals.

Jesús Velasco, Span coach: "We know that the game against Italy is like a final because there's no margin for error. Whoever wins goes through, and there can't be a draw. We'll try to take the game to where it suits us best, and I hope we can be as disciplined as we have been so far. The team is progressing, so we're optimistic.

"That said, we have a lot of respect for Italy, and we're aware that they can beat us. We played against them in November, and I don't think Italy will change much, but that was a friendly, and this game is completely different. I think it will be a game where Italy will try to concede as little as possible and try to take advantage of their opportunities. In tournaments like this, it's very important to improve game by game, and I think we've been achieving that."

Salvatore Samperi, Italy coach: "It will be an amazing match for sure because Italy vs Spain is always a thrilling contest. Spain and Portugal are the favorites to win the tournament, but we don't want to go home tomorrow.

"I think it was really important for us to face Portugal in our group because they have more or less the same quality, and they are also similar in the way they play, although they have different characteristics. Spain are very strong in attack, and we will need to perfect in those small defensive details if we are to be successful."