The primary objective has been achieved. Italy are into the semi-finals of the World Beach Games thanks to their 5-4 win over Spain, played on the sand of the Beach Arena in Doha. That made it three victories out of three for Emiliano Del Duca’s Azzurri, who will now take on Brazil. It will not be an easy challenge by any means, as their Brazilian opponents topped Group A and won 7-4 against the Swiss in the decisive match of that group. The match against the South American side will take place today at 19:30 CEST.

Italy’s progression in this tournament comes as the result of a tense and combative match, played in great competitive fashion between the two European rivals. Spain, coached by Joaquin Alonso, were in the lead until the final third. Then Italy, who had been able to weather the long-range efforts of the Spanish team, took control of the match and decided the contest in seven minutes with goals from Palmacci, Corosiniti (the equaliser) and Gori (the winner). It only takes one goal and the right level of concentration to reach the semi-finals, that’s all it takes to show that you are one of the top four teams in the world.

This is what Coach Del Duca had to say about his team’s performance and victory: "I’m really pleased, especially for the team. We knew it was going to be a great game and it was exactly that. These games against Spain are never boring. My compliments to our opponents, but today we deserved our victory."

The Azzurri captain Francesco Corosiniti also gave his thoughts after the game. "It’s always a battle against Spain, we did well to manage the contest. We turned the scoreline around and we achieved our primary goal: to make it to the semi-finals." Match-winner Gabriele Gori also added his piece, saying: "A great result today and also a great demonstration of pride from our side. These are the matches during which our character really comes to the fore. We were excellent in how we remained patient and kept up our concentration throughout the game."

SPAIN 4-5 ITALY (1-0; 2-2; 1-3)

Goals: 1’ft Adri Frutos (S), 3’st Chiki (S), 3’st Palmacci (I), 3’st Javi Torres (S), 6’st Gori (I), 1’tt Cintas (S), 3’tt Palmacci (I), 4’tt Corosiniti (I), 7’tt Gori (I)

Italy: Del Mestre, Marinai, Ramacciotti, Chiavaro, Gori; Carpita, Corosiniti, Zurlo, Palmacci, Percia Montani, Frainetti; Coach. Del Duca
Spain: Pablo, Antonio, Cintas, Adri Frutos, Eduard; Dona, Pedro, Llorenc, Chiki, Javi Torres, David, Domi; Coach. Alonso
Match Officials: Cortez (ECU), Al Mansoury (UAE), Mammadov (AZE), Habed Rabo (LEB)

Groups

Group A: Brazil, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Marocco
Group B: Italy, Spain, Mexico, Solomon Islands
Group C: Iran, Paraguay, Senegal, Ukraine
Group D: Russia, Japan, Uruguay, El Salvador

Group Stage results

Solomon Islands 5-8 Italy
Italy 5-3 Mexico
Spain 4-5 Italy

Semi-finals (15 October)
16:30 CEST: Russia vs. Iran
19:30 CEST: Brazil vs. Italy

Finals (16 October)
16:30 CEST: 3rd /4th place playoff
19:30 CEST: Grand Final