Having reached the men’s kata gold medal contest yesterday, Damian Quintero continued his form by starring alongside Jose Manuel Carbonell and Francisco Jose Salazar in the team competition.

The Spanish trio proved to have too much for their Croatian opponents in the semi-final stage of the competition, with the defending champion’s victory seeing them meet the host nation in the final.

It followed the French team, consisting of Lucas Jeannot, Ahmed Zemouri and Enzo Montarello, defeating Turkey in their last four encounter.

Turkey also suffered heartbreak in the women’s team event as the defending champions were beaten by the Spain’s trio of Gema Morales, Margarita Morata and Paula Rodríguez.

After their upset win, Spain will take on Jasmin Bleul, Christine Heinrich and Sophie Watcher in the final after Germany earned a 3-2 victory over Italy.

“It was very difficult for us to reach the final,” said Bleul, following their win.

“Now we go for gold. 

“I think we are ready for this moment; now we have to go over our Bunkai and our Katas and we have to start focusing on our goal.”

France celebrated  advancing to the gold medal contest in the men’s kumite team event and will face the defending champions Turkey in the final.

The Turkish team, led by their star Enes Erkan, defeated Portugal in their semi-final tie to progress.

Their women’s team were unable to reach their final as they fell to defeat against Azerbaijan.

Croatia moved to the verge of retaining their title by beating France.

The finals of the European Championships at the Montpellier Arena will be open to a worldwide audience with fans able to watch the action either live on television or through the World Karate Federation’s YouTube channel here.

Medal matches are scheduled to begin tomorrow, with the final day of competition set to take place on Sunday (May 8).