Twelve years have elapsed since Brazil last claimed the FIFA Futsal World Cup. But thanks to two fabulous penalty saves from Franklin in a heart-stopping shootout, the Auriverde finally ended their long wait to rule the world once again, prevailing 4-3 from the spot after a thrilling 2-2 draw.

Reigning champions Spain sent a message of intent at the kick-off, lining up with five world champions. Brazil responded by showing they were not going to be bossed around, however, contesting every loose ball as if their lives depended on it.

Although both sides stuck firmly to their gameplans in the opening minutes, patiently maintaining possession and waiting for openings to appear, it was the Brazilians who had the edge. Spain's Luis Amado was the busier of the two keepers, and he had to be sharp to deny Lenisio on two separate occasions as well as Cico and Falcao, whose impudent back-heel so nearly put the local favourites ahead.

Relying on quick breaks to unsettle their opponents, the Europeans almost stole the lead themselves after only two minutes, with Amado throwing long for Javi Rodriguez only for Tiago to block alertly.

The longer the game went on the more important the first goal became. Brazil coach Paulo Cesar de Oliveira shuffled his pack up front, even pairing Falcao and the powerful Betao together in a bid to outmuscle the Spanish. But every time his side had a sight of goal Amado was on hand to thwart them, denying Schumacher and Vinicius at the end of two superbly worked counter-attacks.

In the end it took a stroke of good luck for the Brazilians to edge ahead, Marquinho's 27th-minute corner kick deflecting off Borja's face and beating Amado at the near post. Spain refused to capitulate and were level within two minutes when Torras powered home a left-foot drive.

Despite being denied the services of Falcao through injury, Brazil came storming back, with Vinicius restoring the home side's lead by thrashing the ball high into the net after Amado had pulled off two more fine stops. With just three minutes left on the clock, that appeared be that. The men in red had not read the script, however, and forced extra-time when Alvaro poked home at the far post with barely a minute left.

Although both sides went into overtime with five fouls each, the pace did not relent. Not for the first time, Amado and Tiago showed their shot-stopping skills at either end to ensure the title would be decided on penalties. And it was Tiago's replacement, Franklin, who proved the hero of the afternoon, denying Torras and Marcelo to spark wild celebrations at the Maracanazinho.

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.

Brazil marched into the semi-finals having won all of their six games today, but their Ukrainian opponents bowed out with their heads held high following a 5-3 defeat by the formidable hosts.

Gennadiy Lisenchuk's side even silenced the Maracanazinho crowd with an early opener, Valeriy Zamyatin pouncing on a defensive error with just 64 seconds on the clock.

However, they found Falcao in irrepressible mood. By the interval, the No12 had scored three goals and created another for Lenisio to send Brazil in at a 4-1 lead.

Romanov scored Ukraine's second goal of the first half and, after Marquinho had improved A Seleção's advantage to three goals, his second of the game made the final score 5-3. Brazil may have won, but Ukraine can certainly be proud of their final performance of this year's competition.

Paulo de Oliveira, Brazil coach
Today we committed some individual errors which we paid for in goals. However, I'm not really concerned as it's only to be expected that we would relax a little having already qualified. Once our defence rediscovered its bite, we had no more problems. Now that we've made it as far as the semis, our goal is to go on and become champions.

Vladyslav Lysenko, Ukraine goalkeeper
We wanted to prolong our stay in the tournament, but it just wasn't to be. That said, we achieved the target we initially set ourselves, which was to make the second phase. For that reason, we're leaving here satisfied.

Brazil underlined their title credentials in Maracanzhino with a 3-0 victory over Italy that allied tactical discipline to their traditional commitment to attack.

Keeping a clean sheet certainly seemed as high on the hosts' list of priorities as scoring goals, and in the end they were able to marry these two aims for a victory that should see them through to the semi-finals, depending on the outcome of Iran-Ukraine.

Although both sides showed a healthy respect for each other with their cautious gameplans, Brazil deserved credit for sticking to their usual formation, with two offensive players - Marquinho and Lenisio - to Italy's one. There was, however, little to separate these sides during the early exchanges, and only when Betao grew in influence did the hosts begin to take a stranglehold.

Eventually, their dominance paid off when Schumacher ghosted into space at a corner and coolly converted a Marquinho cross to hand his side a 12th-minute lead. Italy were struggling to simply keep their heads above water at this stage and, just two minutes later, a second Brazilian goal left them with a mountain to climb, Lenisio slotting home following some great approach play by Wilde.

With both teams having lost a player to a red card - Betao for Brazil and Marcio Forte for Italy - the second half lacked the excitement and tension of the first, especially as Brazil were always in command. The outcome was effectively decided with ten minutes remaining, when Ari nipped in to pounce from close range after Falcao's initial shot had been spilled.

Lenisio, Brazil player
Brazil played intelligently. We knew that it was going to be difficult and that defending well would be key. On top of which Tiago displayed all his attributes and we were able to keep another clean sheet. It's true there was a hint of anxiety but that's to be expected in these type of games. Now we'll go and watch Ukraine and start preparing for that match.

Grana, Italy player
We were playing against the big favourites for the title, and unfortunately we were lacking the slice of luck that Brazil enjoyed. That's because we created opportunities but we didn't take them, while they took theirs. We're disappointed but we're ready to go after the win against Iran and book a place in the next round. We'll give it our best shot.

Brazil got their Group E campaign off with victory, but they were given their toughest test to date by a resolute Iran side. Schmacher's early goal proved the difference between the two sides.

A Seleção immediately took control and on two minutes, Schumacher arrowed a firm drive into the back of the net to give them the lead.

But if the home fans in Rio de Janeiro expected the floodgates to open, Mostafa Nazari had other ideas. The Iran goalkeeper made a series of impressive saves to prevent Brazil extending their advantage before the interval.

Paulo Cesar de Oliveira's side were relentless in their assault after the break. However, the Iranian players got behind the ball in numbers, and when Brazil did find space to shoot, Nazari was equal to their efforts.

Schumacher had the last big chance to double the Brazilians' lead, but he was unable to make proper contact and the game finished 1-0.

Betao, Brazil player
I think that we came up against a good national side whose hopes for this tournament are still alive. Their keeper's display had a crucial impact on the result, not to mention the way they defended well across the board. Even when they were 1-0 down they still sat back in their area! But the most important thing is the win, not putting on a show.

Vahid Shamsaee, Iran player
We did exactly what our coach asked us to do when they were attacking. We tried to mark nice and tight in central areas to prevent them getting shots in on goal. Did the pressure get to us? Our plan was to focus on the game and not the crowd. We hope we get to take Brazil on again.

It was all to easy for Brazil at the Gimnasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia today as they strolled to a 9-0 win over Cuba in their final Group A match. The win put paid to any doubt that they might not finish atop the section summit and ensured a return to Rio, where they will play the first match of the second group stage on Saturday.

From the first whistle, backed by a partisan crowd, Brazil were in the ascendancy and only some fine goalkeeping from Wilfredo Carbo kept the scores level. However, when Schumacher broke the deadlock in the fourth minute, the floodgates opened.

Wilde doubled the advantage in the eighth minute and a Falcao penalty five minutes later after Betao was fouled in the box made the score 3-0. By half-time the hosts were 5-0 up thanks to Wilde's second of the match and a Lenisio strike.

Twenty seconds after the restart, Brazil hit their sixth, thanks to their skipper Vinicius. Falcao and Lenisio grabbed their seconds, but the final goal was the pick of the crop when Ari and Falcao combined superbly for Betao to complete the rout.

Paulo de Oliveira, Brazil coach
We’ve won nothing today. We have another group stage with three more games ahead of us. And we want to earn the right to play even more games at this World Cup.

Elddys Valdes, Cuba coach
It’s been a fantastic World Cup, but my team needs more experience before we can compete with the likes of Brazil, Spain and Russia.

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

Brazil scored 21 times without reply against Solomon Islands to consolidate their position at the Group A summit. The victory was the second biggest in FIFA Futsal World Cup history, surpassed only by the Seleção's 29-2 defeat of the host nation at Guatemala 2000.

Brazilian keeper Tiago was unexpectedly forced into making two early saves, but the floodgates opened once Lenisio broke the minnows' resistance on five minutes. It was 8-0 by the break, and things were to get worse for the brave but outclassed Solomons.

Lenisio finished the game with four goals to his name, two fewer than the irrepressible Falcao, and both Schmacher and Betao posted hat-tricks. Wilde, twice, Gabriel and Carlinhos were also on target for Paulo de Oliveira's side, who already look the team to beat.

Victor Wai'ia, Solomon Islands coach
It was great to have the chance to play against Brazil. Their technical ability is amazing. My team are very young and I believe this was a great learning experience for them. I hope we’ll take something away from this game.

Egeta, Solomon Islands player
That was a difficult game. We were up against one of the futsal giants. Technicallly, they’re perfect.
A 10 minute video of Brazil vs Soloman game (Portugese)

Brazil's Marquinho fights for the ball with Jack Wetney of the S olomon Islands	Brazil's Lenisio fights for the ball with Francis Lafai of the Solomon Islands	Brazil's players celebrate a goal against Solomon Islands

First round

Solomon Islands - Brazil

0:21 (0:8)

Match	Date	Venue / Stadium	Time	Attendance
9	02 October 2008	Brasilia / Gimnasio Nilson Nelson	10:30	5845