In their second battle in this year's Futsal World Cup, Brazil defeated the Russians 4-2 on Thursday.
With the victory, the Brazilians guaranteed their presence in the finals and will face the reigning world champs, Spain.
Brazil jumped out in front with their first goal of the day in the 4th minute. Gabriel stole the ball from the Russians and passed it off to a wide open Schumacher who simply tapped the ball into the net.
In the 8th minute, Brazil scored again. Vinicius took advantage of an erred pass and dominated the ball, quickly passing it off to Falcao who did not disappoint. Russia reacted in the 17th minute, scoring their first of the day when Pula scored on a great individual play.
However, just before the half ended, Brazil scored their third when Ari crossed the ball to Vinicius who headed the ball past the Russian goalkeeper.
In the second half, Russia scored one last time in the 5th minute. Khamadiev was found wide open and blew the ball past Tiago, the Brazilian goalie. It took the Brazilians 12 more minutes to score their fourth goal of the game. In the 17th minute, Lenisio stole the ball and passed it off to a wide open Gabriel, sliding the ball into the net to end all scores.
In 2004, Brazil was eliminated from the finals for the first time in the history of the event. Spain defeated Brazil by way of penalty kicks in overtime. Now, the team coached by PC de Oliveirahopes to revenge their past and win the World Cup on Sunday.
The Russians will play in the third place game against the Italians, made up entirely of Brazilian expatriates.
(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2008)