UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 semi-final preview: Croatia vs Spain, France vs Portugal

The UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 semi-finals are played at Arena Stožice in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on Wednesday as Croatia meet Spain and France face holders Portugal with places in Saturday's decider on offer.

Croatia vs Spain

Seeing Spain in a Futsal EURO semi-final is hardly a novelty; they have now made this round in all 13 editions and only three times have they not gone further, losing to Italy in 2003, Russia in 2014 and Portugal last time out in 2022. That most recent defeat meant that for the first time Spain had gone more than one Futsal EURO in a row without lifting the trophy, dethroned by Portugal in the epic 2018 final at Arena Stožice, but this time around in Slovenia they have performed with the aplomb of the teams that claimed nine major titles between 1996 and 2016.

They topped Group C in Ljubljana with a record-equalling 16 goals as they beat Slovenia 4-1, Belarus 2-0 and Belgium 10-3, and in the quarter-finals were masterful in eliminating Italy 4-0. But Croatia's run has also been solid, drawing 2-2 with France and Georgia before beating Latvia 4-1 to finish second in Group A in Riga, then travelling to Kaunas and defeating Armenia 3-0.

Ante Piplica had a tremendous night in goal on Saturday and his team will need to be at their very best in only their second semi-final, having got to this stage as hosts in 2012. Franko Jelovčić was part of that team and is captaining Croatia now in what will be his last two internationals, his nation's caps and goals record-holder hoping his farewell will come in the final after an epoch-making defeat of Spain.

Marinko Mavrović, Croatia coach: "Spain are the favourites not only in the semi-final against us, but they are also the favourites to win the tournament. Having said that, we will do our best to win the match and reach the final for the first time.

"We need to defend very well and take our chances when they arrive. It's as simple as that. We are well aware of just how strong Spain is, but that doesn't mean that they don't have their weaknesses. It's up to us to explore them."

Jesús Velasco, Spain coach: "Croatia are a very physical team who are playing really well here. They have a lot of quality, and they mix that up with very strong physical players. They are enjoying a great tournament so far, and I think the two friendlies we played recently against Serbia will be very important for the way we will approach the match. Croatia and Serbia have their differences, of course, but they play in a similar way.

"It's true that Croatia have two very powerful pivots, but that will only be a problem for us if we don't play at our level. We will need to be very focused for the entire game, not only to prevent them from taking advantage of their pivots but also to stop all the quality they have in the other aspects of their game. The feeling we have is that we are going from less to more and that gives us a lot of confidence."

France vs Portugal 

On paper this is a game between relatively inexperienced newcomers who have made the semis on only their second qualification, and the seasoned force aiming for a third title in a row, on a run of 15 straight Futsal EURO finals victories. But while Portugal indeed continue to dominate, topping Group D in Ljubljana with maximum points then surging past Belgium 8-2 in the quarter-finals, France are no novices.

After all, while Les Bleus only picked up one point in their previous EURO appearance of 2018, they got to the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup semi-finals on debut, two rounds further than Portugal and only narrowly losing to Argentina. And after finishing as qualifying top scorers, France's ranking has risen enough for them to have been top seeds in Group A, where after drawing with Croatia they saw off Latvia 5-0 and travelled to Kaunas to beat Georgia 3-1 and finish first.

They returned to Riga on Saturday and beat Ukraine 4-2 in a pulsating quarter-final, Souheil Mouhoudine scoring an extra-time hat-trick to go to six goals in the finals, joint best with Belgium's Omar Rahou. However, Abdessamad Mohammed was sent off, depriving France of one of their key talents as they face the holders.

Raphaël Reynaud, France coach: "A mountain stands before us, but we also have our strengths. We've worked to ensure this match will be a landmark in French futsal history. Portugal will be the favourites, but we have what it takes to challenge them and push them to their limits."

"How can we stop Portugal? By staying true to ourselves. Their winning streak is unbelievable. I have a lot of respect for Jorge Braz and for Portugal as a futsal nation. That said, we will do whatever we can to stop that streak. We have also seen how Portugal have built their system and we have taken inspiration from that."

Jorge Braz, Portugal coach: "I have total confidence in my players. All I need to do is let them play. We can win by being Portugal and being faithful to the way we play. We have to have the initiative when defending and be dynamic and intentional when attacking, which is something we love to do. You only need to look at the stats and see how our goals are distributed among so many different players. Everyone plays his part in this team.

"The past and the future count for nothing and only the present will be important. If we do what we know, then we will be closer to the final. It has been incredible to work with these players since we started our training camp. We pushed them to the limit and their response was amazing. It's very important to have teams like France reaching this level and their national association is doing excellent work."