UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 final preview: Portugal vs Spain

The UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 final between holders Portugal and record seven-time winners Spain takes place at Arena Stožice, Ljubljana, on Saturday.

The lowdown on the Futsal EURO 2026 final

After a tournament stretching across three nations with games in Riga, Kaunas and Ljubljana, the two favourites have come through with perfect winning runs to meet for the third time in a final. In 2010, Spain beat Portugal 4-2 in Debrecen to claim the fifth of their record seven titles.

Eight years on, in the Arena Stožice where they face off again on Saturday, Portugal won a thriller 3-2 after extra time thanks to a late Bruno Coelho ten-metre penalty to dethrone Spain and claim their maiden major honour, successfully defending the title in Amsterdam in 2022.

Portugal beat Spain 3-2 in the semis four years ago, coming back from two down, knocked their neighbours out in the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup last eight on their way to the title, and beat them on penalties to claim the 2022 Futsal Finalissima in Buenos Aires, their recent supremacy a reversal of the balance of power prior to that 10 February 2018 night in Ljubljana.

In both 2018 and 2022, Portugal won all their games without recourse to penalties and so far in 2026 have kept that up, their five victories including three trademark comebacks in Ljubljana. That started on Matchday 1 as they conceded after 88 seconds against Italy but won 6-2 before beating Hungary 5-1 and Poland 3-2; in both knockout games they roared back after falling behind, defeating Belgium 8-2 with a Pany Varela hat-trick and France 4-1, scoring twice late in the first half to turn a tricky game.

Spain have not even had the inconvenience of trailing in any of their games, their control echoing the era when they claimed nine major titles between 1996 and 2016; like Portugal, their squad depth gives them a rich variety of rotations. They beat Slovenia 4-1, Belarus 2-0 and Belgium 10-3 (the first time a team had scored ten in a Futsal EURO finals game) to equal the group stage goals record of 16, and eased past Italy 4-0 before surviving a late scare to edge out Croatia 2-1 in the semis.

Views from the Portugal and Spain camps

Jorge Braz, Portugal coach: "We've reached the end of the journey. Now we want to finish it. That's why building this journey takes more work than finishing it later. Because we're already at the top of the mountain, and now it's about planting the Portuguese flag there. Which is difficult. Yes, but it's a game against a great opponent that will bring us many difficulties and put us in that position that we also like to be in.

"It's about being ourselves, being happy and positive while playing, playing the way we know how, and there isn't much inputs from this or that. There's the strategic side. That takes as much work as any other game. And it's about not making it easy. It's about working, it's about preparing, it's the whole technical team, everyone, as a team, as we always have, and that takes as much work as any other game."

Respect between Jorge Braz (left) and Jesús VelascoUEFA via Getty Images

Jesús Velasco, Spain coach: "It's going to be a very strategic match where each team will try to dictate the game to their advantage. We'll play in our own half, and Portugal in theirs. From there, it's going to be a great challenge.

"Everyone who loves futsal knows it's a must-see match. We're among the two best teams in this European Championship, and I think it's going to be a fantastic spectacle. The playing style of both teams is very similar in many respects. We look to Portugal a lot, and Portugal looks to Spain a lot."

Bruno Coelho, Portugal captain: "I believe this is a somewhat different Spain from the one we faced in that friendly in 2024. Better prepared, more consistent, playing a more dynamic 4-0 system, and as I've said many times, we have to be at our best to overcome these difficulties we will encounter. But we also have our strengths; we are also very strong playing the 4-0 system and we are also very strong using the pivot.

"It feels like it's the first time I'm going to play in a final. I feel like an anxious and nervous kid about to play another final. I'm happy and satisfied with the work we've been doing, not only in this European Championship, but in all the other competitions. In recent years, I can only be grateful for the way we have grown and evolved in Portuguese futsal."

Mario Rivillos, Spain captain: "[Portugal are] the current champions. They've won practically every competition in previous years. We respect them immensely, but we've also been doing things very well. It's true that we haven't won anything for ten years, and I think that's an extra boost for the whole team. That hunger, that motivation to want to show that Spain is still in the mix.

"I think we all know each other perfectly. Perhaps we weren't as familiar with some other national teams; it's true we didn't know some of the players as well. But Portugal and Spain are like cousins, so we all know each other perfectly, and we'll see what we're capable of. I'm still enjoying it like a kid, and that's what's important."

Key stats on the Portugal vs Spain Futsal EURO final

• Spain are in their tenth final from the 13 editions and want an eighth title; no other team has more than two.
• Portugal are aiming to be the second three-time winners and claim their third title in a row (Spain managed four between 2005 and 2012).
• Portugal's 26-goal tally is one off Spain's single-tournament record from 2010 and 2016.
• Spain are on 22 goals; and a third clean sheet would equal Italy's record from 2007.
• André Coelho, Bruno Coelho, Pany Varela and Tiago Brito were all part of both Futsal EURO triumphs and the 2021 world title (all but Tiago Brito also won the 2022 Finalissima).
• Tomás Paçó, Afonso Jesus, Erick, Pauleta and Edu were also part of Portugal's EURO 2022 triumph while Jorge Braz has overseen all their titles as coach since 2010.
• Spain's Mario Rivillos was part of their winning team in 2016, his only previous Futsal EURO final tournament.
• Overall in 35 meetings, Spain have 26 wins and Portugal five, with four draws, the goal count 116-56. Their most recent game was a November 2024 friendly won 1-0 away by Spain.

Third-place play-off: France vs Croatia (16:00 CET, Saturday)

UEFA via Getty Images

Preceding the final at Arena Stožice, the two beaten semi-finalists play off for third place with a first-time medallist guaranteed.

France, in only their second Futsal EURO, matched their run to the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup semi-finals on debut, though they lost that third-place match 7-1 to Ukraine. Abdessamad Mohammed will return from his suspension in the semi-final against Portugal, a game France's most-capped player Sid Belhaj missed through injury.

Croatia reached their second semi-final after their 2012 run as hosts; then they lost 3-1 to Italy for third place. On Matchday 1 in Group A in Riga Croatia and France draw 2-2.

Unlike in the final, where if scores are level on 40 minutes there will be ten minutes of extra time, the third-place match would proceed straight to a penalty shoot-out.