Ljubljana (Slovenia), Feb 11 (IANS): Russia came away with the bronze from the Futsal Euro third-place match thanks to the one-and-only goal of the game by Eder Lima at minute 29, which eased some of the pain of not making it into the final after taking second place three straight times - in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

The Russian team bounced back from its defeat against Portugal in the semi-finals -- from which Portugal bounced into the championship final against Spain -- to take charge of a match in which the Kazakhs tried to make history but couldn't, reports Efe.

Their failure to pull off any scoring shots, the diligence of Russian goalkeeper Zamtaradze and the double-yellow-card expulsion of Douglas Junior in the final minutes were decisive for the Russian victory.

Douglas himself could have tied it up when Robinho committed a foul against him but his penalty kick went high and that practically signed his dismissal from the Futsal Euro third-place match, because when he later fouled Eder Lima, Spanish referee Cordero Gallardo flashed his second yellow card.

Douglas's expulsion left his team with one less player in the final minutes of the game that marked the farewell of Brazil's Cacau from Kazakhstan, a technician who saw how his team gave its all for a tie that was never achieved, and how goalkeeper Higuita kept Lyskov and Robinho from building on Russia's minimum lead.