The Fijian squads are both preparing for the upcoming Pacific Games and will use the matches against Samoa – who are not taking part in the Games football tournament – as part of their build-up to the event.
The dates of August 16 and 18 have been set aside for the matches and will see the Fiji women’s team in action for the first time since its disappointing campaign at the OFC Women’s Nations Cup last September.
Fiji picked up just one point from its three matches at that tournament in Auckland and are determined to put in a vastly improved showing in New Caledonia. Coach Usenio Logaivau has plenty of talent at his disposal in the 25-strong training squad and all the players will be desperate to impress against Samoa as the line-up will be trimmed to 20 for the Games.
The likes of Bela Ratubalavu, Laijipa Daini, Viniana Riwai and Australia-based Vanisha Kumar should have too much class for Samoa, who did not feature in the Nations Cup and whose last outing at an international tournament was the previous Pacific Games in 2007.
As hosts, Samoa notched a 2-0 win over New Caledonia and drew nil-all with Tonga four years ago but failed to make it out of the group stages.
The Fiji men’s team will also be targeting nothing less than a win as they look to build on the progress made during a pair of friendlies against visiting Vanuatu earlier this month.
Coach Gurjit Singh presided over a 1-0 win in his first game in charge in front of a bumper crowd at Labasa’s Subrail Park but saw his charges fall to a 2-1 defeat in the second match at Churchill Park in Lautoka.
National team director Anil Sharma was pleased to see the players get those matches under their belts and believes they provided a good indication of the side’s abilities.
“The two tests clearly showed where we stand at the moment,” he says. “A total of 20 players were tried out across the matches, which clearly showed out strengths and weaknesses ahead of the Games.”
Despite Samoa not being regarded as one of the powers of Oceania football, Sharma says both Fiji sides cannot afford to underestimate their opponents.
“The Samoa women’s side will no doubt provide a strong challenge for ours,” he says. “With all due respect to the Samoa men, on paper, we should pick up a victory. But they are unknown to us and we do not know what to expect from them.”
The Fiji men’s squad returned to camp on Monday and have been training since then at the Dr MS Sahu Khan Football Academy in Ba.
Sharma says they will remain together until the Games and will be released only for National Football League matches and the upcoming Battle of the Giants tournament, during which all the players’ performances will be closely monitored.
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