Both teams were hoping to begin their Group D campaign on a high at the Arena Stožice but France made the brighter start to the encounter.

Abdessamad Mohammed struck after eight minutes of the contest, but Spain immediately hit back through Adolfo.

France regained the lead on a further two occasions with Alla and Mouhoudine striking, with the efforts coming either side of an own goal from Aigoun.

An own goal from Spain’s Ortiz appeared to have sealed victory for France only for a strike from Solano and late goal by Bebe to level the score at 4-4.

Group C began with a straightforward win for Portugal, as they swept past the challenge of Romania.

Goals from Pedro Cary and Fábio Cecílio scored in the opening 18 minutes of the match, finishing off crosses by Ricardinho.

Ricardinho went from provider to scorer, with the Portuguese player adding a third from a spectacular rabona effort.

Romania’s goalkeeper Dumitru Stoica pulled one back before Bruno Coelho added a fourth in the 37th minute for Portugal to complete their victory.

Competition is due to continue tomorrow with Serbia taking on Italy in Group A, while Kazakhstan face Poland in Group B.

Chinese Taipei is set to stage the Asian Futsal Championships, which are due to begin tomorrow.

The hosts will compete against Bahrain, Malaysia and Vietnam in Group A, while Japan, Tajikistan, South Korea and Uzbekistan will compete in Group B.

China, Iran, Iraq and Myanmar will go head-to-head in Group C, with Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, Lebanon and Thailand contesting Group D.

The tournament is due to be held at two venues, the University of Taipei Gymnasium in Taipei and Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipie City.