Shoot-out loss
A 4-3 loss to Serbia in their last group game meant Russia did not go into the opposite half of the draw to the other final favourites but instead had to transfer from Budapest to Debrecen to play holders Spain. The 40 minutes were goalless but after an epic shoot-out, Russia lost 7-6.

Sole barrier
Maevski told uefa.com that although his side had their earliest exit since 2003, they were effectively within an ace of their first title in eleven years. "Maybe it is better that we have played Spain in the quarter-final, not in the final," the MFK Dinamo Moskva player said. "If we had won, than we would have had an easy road to gold. I don't want to offend other teams, but they are obviously weaker than Spain."

Single aim
Of course, that does not lessen the pain, as the experienced Maevski pointed out. "Those players who have never played at the European Championship are really shocked now," he said, "but I can tell you, that they would have been shocked in the same way if we had met Spain in the final. We came here with the goal of taking gold. And I knew that we had to beat Spain to achieve that. And I personally don't care when we played Spain – in the final or the quarter-final. Eighth place and second are the same for me."

Russian development
The 30-year-old, who helped Russia finish second and third in his previous EURO finals, is not planning an international retirement, and believes his side are nearing in on the title, not least with the victories of both Dinamo and MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg against Spanish sides in recent UEFA Futsal Cups. "Spain can feel us breathing down their necks," he said. "Moreover, at club level we are already better as Russian clubs have won two of the last three UEFA Futsal Cups. Futsal is developing in the right way. Good finances have helped to make the league better, the players are progressing and at the same time the national team is also becoming stronger. Moreover, we have drawn against Spain in normal time; the last time that happened was long ago."