The fifth and final stage will go down to the final day in both divisions
Both divisions remain up for grabs in the Euro Beach Soccer League stage, Warnemunde as the competitions gets past its halfway point.
Italy bounced back from their defeat to Ukraine by beating Azerbaijan 3-2 to keep alive their hopes of winning the Warnemunde stage.
The Italians – guaranteed a place at the Superfinal as hosts – saw Michele Di Palma score twice in a hard-fought win that moves them two points behind leaders Ukraine.
The defending champions needed extra time to pick up their second win of the stage as Ivan Glutskyi’s late strike settled a 2-1 victory.
Germany – beaten by Azerbaijan on day one – were on course for the win going into the final period but were pegged back before Glutskyi grabbed the winner to all but seal Ukraine’s place at the Superfinal.
England look to have ensured their place at the Promotion Final in Terracina also, thanks to a 7-4 win against the Netherlands.
The Three Lions had braces from Aaron Clarke, Jake Younie and Joe Maxwell to thank as they ensured a winner-takes-all match against Romania for the title on Sunday.
Romania had picked up their second win of the weekend as they battled past Lithuania in a 3-2 success.
Viktor Bartosevic’s opener separated the sides until five minutes from time but, after a flurry of late goals, Gabriel Dobre’s set-piece proved the difference for Romania.
Saturday results
13:30 – Romania 3-2 Lithuania
14:45 – England 7-4 Netherlands
6:00 – Ukraine 2-1 Germany (AET)
17:15 – Italy 3-2 Azerbaijan
Sunday fixtures
11:00 – Netherlands v Lithuania
12:15 – England v Romania
13:30 – Azerbaijan v Ukraine
14:45 – Italy v Germany
