Brazil will face off against either Spain or Italy for the title of 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup champions after the hosts emerged with a 4-2 victory from their semi-final against Russia.

The Auriverde have been a revelation at this tournament, thrilling the home fans with their performances en route to the last four, and they once again rose to the occasion against formidable European opponents.

Goals rarely take long to arrive in futsal and this match certainly proved no different, with Brazil storming into a fourth-minute lead courtesy of a routine strike from the talismanic Schumacher. This was just the kind of start Russia had hoped to avoid and their task was made all the more imposing four minutes later when a calamitous error from Pavel Kobzar allowed Falcao to double the hosts' lead.

The Russians were dominating possession, but with Brazil seemingly comfortable in repelling their attacks, it took until two minutes from half-time for Pula to finally haul the underdogs back into contention with a well-taken finish. Unfortunately for Russia, they were up against a side that always looked capable of stepping up a gear and, within a minute, the two-goal cushion had been re-established, Cico setting up Vinicius to slot the ball home.

The Eastern Europeans were not ready to give up yet, however, and six minutes into the second half they halved the deficit for a second time, Damir Khamadiev collecting an incisive pass Vladislav Shayakhmetov and leaving Tiago with no chance. This sparked a thrilling, nervy conclusion to this match until all doubt was removed with two minutes remaining when Lenisio robbed Pula before threading the ball through for the unmarked Gabriel to beat Zuev from point-blank range.

Brazil will now await the outcome of the second semi-final between European giants Spain and Italy to see who they will face in Sunday's eagerly-awaited final.

A 2-2 draw with Argentina was enough to see Russia through to the semi-finals and set-up a rematch with hosts Brazil in the process.

Although the Russians dominated possession in the early stages, it was Argentina who opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Martin Amas turned the ball in from Leandro Planas' right-wing cross.

However, a poor clearance from the Albiceleste's defence allowed Konstantin Dushkevich to equalize with three minutes of the first-half remaining. Amas and Matias Lucuix both had chances to score in the final seconds of the half, but both sides went in level at the break.

Despite it being a must-win game for Argentina, they played patient football at the beginning of the second half. That changed when Dmitry Prudnikov put Russia 2-1 ahead with eight minutes to go. Argentina poured people upfront and got their reward when Esteban Gonzalez netted with four minutes to go.

But try as the South Americans did, Russia hung on for the point which sees them reach the final four for the first time since Guatemala 2000.

A last-gasp goal from Vladislav Shayakhmetov gave Russia a 5-4 win over Paraguay at the Gimnasio Nilson Nelsen in a topsy turvy encounter.

It was a game dominated by two hat-tricks. Pula thought that he may have sealed the points for Russia when he wrapped up his treble in the 35th minute and Fabio Alcaraz may have thought that he had earned his side a share of the spoils with a 39th minute goal, but in the end it was Shayakhmetov's late, late strike which decided the game's fate.

It was the Europeans who made the brightest start, going 2-0 up inside the opening 19 minutes. Pula put his side ahead in the eighth minute and Shayakhmetov doubling his side advantage 11 minutes later.

But Paraguay came back strongly hitting three goals without reply, firstly through a Jose Rotella penalty and then through Alcaraz.

Pula levelled matters and then put his side ahead before Alcaraz made it 4-4. But with half a second on the clock, Shayakhmetov hit the winner.

Defending champions Spain struck for four unanswered goals during an eight-minute span in the second half to turn a one-goal deficit into a 5-2 Group F second round victory over Russia at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008 on Saturday.

Goalkeeper Sergey Zuev kept the Russians in the match with two key saves in the first half, but he proved mortal over the final 20 minutes. Zuev denied Javi Rodriguez and Borja in the second and 13th minutes, respectively. Spain, however, beat him in the 13th minute as Marcelo set up Alvaro on a nice pass. The Russians equalised five minute later as Dmitry Prudnikov faked his way past a Spain defender and beat goalkeeper Luis Amado.

Amado gifted Russia a 2-1 lead in the 27th minute when he lost the ball in the corner to Sirilo. He passed the ball to skipper Konstantin Maeskiy, who had little problems shooting into an empty net. But Spain did not put their heads down. Instead, they pushed up. Zuev was up to his old tricks again in the 31st minute, saving a shot by Fernando. But seconds later he could not stop a Torras blast which levelled the scores at 2-2.

Only two minutes later Spain took the lead following a Daniel penalty kick. Trying for the equaliser, Russia replaced Zuev for an extra attacker. But the world champions who took advantage of the move. After the Russians lost the ball, Rodriguez scored into an empty goal in the 39th minute. Seconds later, Amado, the goalkeeper, managed to get possession of the ball and sent a shot from his goal into the Russian net.

Venancio Lopez, Spain coach
We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game given that Russia are a strong side. Finding ourselves behind with ten minutes to go was a difficult situation. Knowing how to cope with situations like this is very important and we managed it brilliantly. Our team never loses its head.

Sirilo, Russia player
We’re still lacking experience. Their equaliser came as a result of some very basic mistakes on our part.

Russia marched on to the second round at Brazil 2008 this afternoon with a thumping and thoroughly deserved 9-1 victory over Japan in Maracanazhino.

The Asian hopefuls had begun the day knowing that victory would take them through at the Russians' expense, but they now head for home in the knowledge that they were beaten by a clearly superior side.

Russia, fresh from that record-breaking 31-2 win over the Solomon Islands, were outstanding at times, confirming their status as genuine title contenders with a display of power and panache.

At the heart of much of their best play was the brilliant Dmitry Prudnikov, who gave notice of his intentions by firing home the first goal at the end of a slick one-touch move. Soon after, Damir Khamadiev added the second from a corner kick, and as Japan pushed forward, Russia punished them ruthlessly on the counter-attack, Khamadiev making it 3-0 after just 10 minutes.

The pace dropped discernibly for the remainder of the first half as Russia coasted into a six-goal lead but it soon picked up again after the re-start, with Khamadiev completing his hat-trick only 23 seconds into the second half.

Japan did claim a consolation through Yuki Kanayama, and while that was warmly received by the crowd, the local fans also made a point of standing to acclaim a Russian team that had provided a genuine futsal masterclass.

Damir Khamadiev, Russia player
The best way to win a World Cup is by focusing on winning your next game, nothing else. Even more important than the goals we scored against Japan and Cuba is the fact that we played well and are lucky enough to be in the next round.

Sergio Sapo, Japan coach
Despite having a young and inexperienced team, our objective was to make it through to the next round. And though we gave it everything we had, even against two of the title contenders, Brazil and Russia, we came up short. Nevertheless, I am very proud of my players.

Brasilia -- Lenisio scored a goal in each half to lead Brazil to a 7-0 victory over Russia in a Group A match in the FIFA Futsal World Cup™ Saturday.

The win gave the host country a 3-0 record after rolling to a 12-1 triumph over Japan Tuesday and 21-0 romp over the Solomon Islands Thursday. Russia (1-1) had recorded a 10-5 win over Cuba Tuesday. Japan played the Solomon Island in another group match later in the day.

Schumacher gave the Brazilians all the scoring they needed in the third minute, but Russia's Dmitry Prudnikov doubled the lead with an own goal five minutes later.

Lenisio scored his first goal in the 14th minute and Cico made it 4-0 only two minutes later.

The Brazilians continued pressing in the second half as Lenisio struck for his second goal in the 22nd minute. Falcao added another in the 29th minute and Vinicius closed out the scoring in the 32nd minute.

Brazil meets Cuba in its final group encounter Wednesday, while Russia plays the Solomon Islands Monday and Japan Wednesday